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A nonlinear theory of laser noise and coherence. I

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Zeitschrift für Physik

Abstract

We consider the interaction of a set of atoms at random lattice sites with a decaying resonator mode. The optical transition is supposed to possess a homogeneously broadened Lorentzian line. The pumping is taken into account explicitly as a stochastic process. After elimination of the atomic coordinates a second order nonlinear differential equation for the light amplitude is found. In between excitation collisions this equation can be solved exactly if the resonator width is large as compared to all other frequency differences. In contrast to linear theories there exists a marked threshold. Below it the amplitude decreases after each excitation exponentially and the linewidth turns out to be identical with those of previous authors (for instanceWagner andBirnbaum), if specialized to large cavity width. Above the threshold the light amplitude converges towards a stable value, whereas the phase undergoes some kind of undamped diffusion process. We then consider the general case with arbitrary cavity width. If the general equation of motion of the light amplitude is interpreted as that of a particle moving in two dimensions, it becomes clear that also in this case the amplitude oscillates above threshold around a stable value which is identical with that determined in previous papers byHaken andSauermann neglecting laser noise. This stable value may, however, undergo shifts, if there are slow systematic changes of the cavity width, inversion etc. On the other hand the phase still fluctuates in an undamped way. After splitting off the phase factor the equations can be linearized and solved explicitly. With these solutions simple examples of correlation functions are calculated in a semiclassical way, thus yielding expressions for the line width above threshold. The results can also be used to evaluate from first principles correlation functions for different laser beams. As an example the complex degree of mutual coherence of two laser beams is determined. It vanishes if one of the lasers is still below threshold and its value is close to unity well above threshold for observation times small compared to the inverse laser linewidth.

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Haken, H. A nonlinear theory of laser noise and coherence. I. Z. Physik 181, 96–124 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01383921

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01383921

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