Optical Bistability Based Upon Atomic Correlation in a Small Volume

E. Abraham, R. Bullough, Saad S. M. Hassan

Charles M. Bowden, Chi C. Sung

Our model, presented earlier, which predicts the circumstances under which intrinsic mirrorless optical bistability (OB) can occur due to atomic pair correlation in a small volume, is outlined and the results presented. These results, which Predict a first-order phase transition in steady state for an externally-driven collection of a large number of atoms far removed from thermodynamic equilibriun, forms the motivation for a detailed microscopic examination of the dynamical behavior of atonic pair correlation in the presence of externally-applied coherent radiation. 4 model is presented and results are discussed for the transient dynamic evolution of two, two-level atoms separated from each other by a distance r in the presence of an externally-applied coherent radiation field. The results predict collective radiation reaction, frequency shifts, relaxation in terms of the atomic seoaration r (assumed much larger than single atom dimensions), the externally-applied field intensity and spacial uniformity of the field with respect to the inter-atomic volume.

Deb Shankar Ray

Y. Ben-Aryeh, Charles M. Bowden

Atomic cooperative effects in mirrorless (intrinsic) optical bistability (MOB) have been treated, so far, either by assuming a small volume with dimensions smaller than a wavelength1,2, or by assuming a system with a small number of atoms3. In the present work we discuss MOB based upon cooperative effects among atoms in a system consisting of many two-level atoms, considering explicitly the spacial dependence of the coherent dipole-dipole interactions.

Shangqing Gong, Si-de Du, Zhizhan Xu

P. W. E. Smith, D. J. Eilenberger