arXiv:1012.1700 · Journal of the Optical Society of America B
Influence of an absorbing dielectric background on bistable response of a dense collection of two-level atoms
Denis V. Novitsky
Abstract
The stationary problem of light interaction with a dense collection of two-level atoms embedded in a dielectric is treated semiclassically. The effect of dielectric absorption on the phenomenon of intrinsic optical bistability is discussed in terms of the complex local-field enhancement factor. The calculations accounting for propagation effects (nonlocal regime) show that even low dielectric absorption results in the elimination of response instabilities.