We propose a method to exploit high finesse optical resonators for light assisted coherent manipulation of atomic ensembles, overcoming the limit imposed by the finite response time of the cavity. The key element of our scheme is to rapidly switch the interaction between the atoms and the cavity field with an auxiliary control process as, for example, the light shift induced by an optical beam. The scheme is applicable to many different atomic species, both in trapped and free fall configurations, and can be adopted to control the internal and/or external atomic degrees of freedom. Our method will open new possibilities in cavity-aided atom interferometry and in the preparation of highly non-classical atomic states.
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