  We study the means to prepare and coherently manipulate atomic wave packets
in optical lattices, with particular emphasis on alkali atoms in the
far-detuned limit. We derive a general, basis independent expression for the
lattice operator, and show that its off-diagonal elements can be tailored to
couple the vibrational manifolds of separate magnetic sublevels. Using these
couplings one can evolve the state of a trapped atom in a quantum coherent
fashion, and prepare pure quantum states by resolved-sideband Raman cooling. We
explore the use of atoms bound in optical lattices to study quantum tunneling
and the generation of macroscopic superposition states in a double-well
potential. Far-off-resonance optical potentials lend themselves particularly
well to reservoir engineering via well controlled fluctuations in the
potential, making the atom/lattice system attractive for the study of
decoherence and the connection between classical and quantum physics.
