Optics and Spectroscopy
Effect of energy level degeneracy on the state of a gaseous ensemble in a strong field in the presence of radiation capture
S. G. Zeiger
Abstract
An equation is derived for the density matrix of a gaseous ensemble in the field of a strong wave of circular or linear polarization. The competition of polarizations in a laser is discussed, and it is shown that for the 1--0 and 1--1 transitions, it is independent of the magnitude of the field, so that circular polarization will be generated at an arbitrary value of the gain. An equation is derived for the lasing intensity in a laser as a function of pumping, account being taken of the degeneracy of the energy levels. It is shown that for the 1--0 and 1--1 transitions, this equation reduces to a third-order equation for the quantity GAMMA/..gamma../sub 10/, where GAMMA is the width of the Bennett dip.