We extend the investigation of the long-time behavior of a model consisting of N two-level atoms interacting with a single electromagnetic cavity mode to include interaction with many cavity modes. We show that, as a consequence of the coupling between radiation modes produced by spatial density variations of the population inversion, there is no strictly stationary state possible for multimode behavior. However we obtain a stationary state by neglecting the rapidly oscillating terms. The steady-state population inversion is then a solution of an eigenvalue problem. The eigenvalue determinate is a function of the number of modes and the coupling between modes in addition to the usual dependence on frequencies and relaxation times. We explicitly solve for the unique eigenvalue in special cases. The corresponding eigenvector gives the steady-state mode intensity ratios. The absolute values of the steady-state intensities are determined by the energy conservation equation generalized to include pumping and dissipation. We also calculate the steady-state frequency shifts for each mode. The mode frequency shifts are practically independent of each other and have the same functional form as the single-mode frequency shifts.
We extend the investigation of the long-time behavior of a model consisting of N two-level atoms interacting with a single electromagnetic cavity mode to include interaction with many cavity modes. We show that, as a consequence of the coupling between radiation modes produced by spatial density variations of the population inversion, there is no strictly stationary state possible for multimode behavior. However we obtain a stationary state by neglecting the rapidly oscillating terms. The steady-state population inversion is then a solution of an eigenvalue problem. The eigenvalue determinate is a function of the number of modes and the coupling between modes in addition to the usual dependence on frequencies and relaxation times. We explicitly solve for the unique eigenvalue in special cases. The corresponding eigenvector gives the steady-state mode intensity ratios. The absolute values of the steady-state intensities are determined by the energy conservation equation generalized to include pumping and dissipation. We also calculate the steady-state frequency shifts for each mode. The mode frequency shifts are practically independent of each other and have the same functional form as the single-mode frequency shifts.
The semiclassical interaction of a two-level system with a multimode electromagnetic field is discussed in detail. The equations of motion for the macroscopic density matrix are transformed into a single integral equation for the population density, with a complex kernel which can take into account both running- and standing-wave configurations. The iterative solution to this integral equation, which corresponds to an expansion in terms of powers of the electromagnetic field amplitudes, turns out to be divergent when the field amplitudes are greater than some critical value. In the case in which the kernel is a periodic or quasiperiodic function of time, a general solution to the integral equation is found, and this solution turns out to be unique and convergent for every value of the electromagnetic (e.m.) field amplitude. This solution is expressed through a continued-fraction expansion, whose terms are matrices, which can be readily obtained from the kernel. This solution is a generalization of the continued-fraction expansion usually met in the strong-signal semiclassical theory of lasers. Some particular cases are then treated in detail; among them, the solution to the multimode operation in laser devices is given in which the excited level lifetime is long compared with the period of the beating term between two adjacent modes. Although the theory presented is directed towards the steady-state regime in multimode lasers, it may also treat the transient regime of laser operations, or it may be extended to include phenomena where a strong e.m. field, made up of several modes equally spaced in frequency, interacts with a two-level system.
This paper presents a semiclassical theory of a single-mode gas laser valid for essentially arbitrary values of field intensity. The theory is formulated in terms of an ensemble-averaged form of the density-matrix equations of motion involving a single set of coordinates. The polarization and the population-inversion density are expanded in spatial Fourier components. One obtains a set of coupled difference equations in the Fourier coefficients yn, which may be solved subject to appropriate boundary conditions on yn for large n. The solutions may be expressed in terms of continued fractions in the general case, and in closed form in important special cases. Quantities of interest are evaluated by computer. The steady-state laser intensity and frequency are obtained from the coupled electromagnetic field equations as functions of the cavity parameters and the linear gain of the amplifying medium. At moderate values of field intensity, the velocity distribution of the space-averaged population inversion density exhibits a fine structure for low-velocity atoms superimposed on the usual broader depletion. This structure is a manifestation of the coherent ringing of the amplifying medium. The results are compared with those obtained in the rate-equation approximation, and with the recent work of Stenholm and Lamb. Discrepancies with the latter paper are explained.
We extend the investigation of the long time behavior of a model consisting of N two-level atoms interacting with radiation to include dissipation, pumping, and center-of-mass motion. We show that when the effective expansion parameter γ̃Nγ̃ is small, the self-consistent field approximation remains the solution to lowest order in γ̃Nγ̃. The inclusion of the center-of-mass motion introduces another dimensionless parameter β into the theory. We show that when this parameter is small, the electromagnetic field amplitude varies slowly on the time scale of the center-of-mass motion. We solve the equations of motion in this slowly varying limit by an extension of the Bogoliuboff-Kryloff theory of quasilinearity to the problem of time-dependent integral kernals. We find the unique stable stationary state and show that in the slowly varying limit the stationary state is approached independent of initial conditions. We calculate the frequency shift to second order in β. The first-order frequency shift is the same as that calculated by Lamb. We compare our steady-state solution with recent experiments with lasers. We include the effect of collisions in the steady state.
Abstract This present paper is an attempt to describe the operation of a laser by a method patterned closely after the classical theory of dispersion. There, the electromagnetic field is treated as a classical system interacting with a collection of classical harmonic oscillators which are at rest. In the present case the radiation field is still treated classically, but, in accordance with the correspondence principle, the oscillators are now virtual oscillators associated with the up-and-down transitions in effective two-state atoms which are described quantum mechanically. The atoms carrying these virtual oscillators are not at rest but move with different velocities. We show how the Lorentz averaging can be performed for such systems, and derive a closed set of equations linking the average electric field E, with the average polarization density P„ and the average population inversion density Mp associated with atoms moving with the velocity v. Next, we investigate the conditions for the existence of a steady state if pumping is present, and if the electric field is represented by a standing wave, or a travelling wave of a single frequency (single-mode case). It turns out that, notwithstanding the nonlinear nature of the equations, the steady-state conditions give a simple complex dispersion relation; moreover, the real and imaginary part of this dispersion relation are equivalent to the usual heuristic expressions which specify the operating frequency in terms of the index of refraction and cavity length, and which balance the gain against the losses. The single-mode case is analysed in detail without any smallness assumptions for the resultant intensity. The small-intensity case gives the usual results exhibiting the tuning dip. For high intensities the relative depth of the dip tends to zero. At the end of the paper we discuss proposed extensions and additional applications.
A stochastic, semiclassical model is developed for a multimode, homogeneously broadened laser with rapid-dipole dephasing (e.g., semiconductor or dye lasers). The theory is valid for systems with a free spectral range that is large compared to the decay rates of the population inversion and the field. Population dynamics including temporal beating effects and relaxation oscillations, spatial-hole burning, coherent-wave mixing, and quantum noise are all included self consistently. A principal restriction of the model, when applied to coupled-cavity systems, is that the modes satisfying the boundary conditions of the gain medium must form a subset of the modes defined by the cavity and that only modes in this subset are above threshold. For typical systems, the model is valid for pump rates up to several times threshold. The effects on the emission linewidth of coherent-wave mixing and the number of modes included in the simulation at various pump rates are discussed.
The steady-state intensity distribution for a laser operating somewhat above threshold is determined by solving a master equation. The master equation describes the interaction between a single radiation mode and N two-level atoms, it contains the effects of pumping and radiation loss from the cavity, and it is applicable to both homogeneous and Doppler broadening. Forms of the master equation applicable to both three- and four-level lasers are considered. Solutions are obtained under the assumption that the distribution of atoms and radiation intensity is a bivariate Gaussian. Fluctuations in the output of giant-pulse lasers are also considered.