Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical Review A

Optical bistability from three-level atoms with the use of a coherent nonlinear mechanism

J. Mlynek, Fedor M. Mitschke, R. Deserno, Wulfhard K. Lange

Published Mar 1, 1984• 38 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on studies on optical bistability from coherently driven $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-type three-level atoms in a Fabry-Perot resonator. The nonlinear mechanism relies on transverse optical pumping and is due to population trapping in a coherent superposition of the ground-state sublevels. If, under appropriate conditions, a zero-field level-crossing resonance (Hanle resonance) occurs in the atomic system, the optical device is shown to display dispersive or absorptive bistability. Our theoretical studies are based on numerical solutions of the corresponding three-level Bloch equations in the presence of optical feedback. Experiments are performed on the ${D}_{1}$ line in a sodium-filled Fabry-Perot resonator using transverse optical Zeeman pumping of the $^{2}S_{\frac{1}{2}}$ ground state. The measurements are found to be in fair agreement with the theoretical predictions from our simple model.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.29.1297

Related papers

Magnetically Induced Relaxation Oscillations in a Sodium-Filled Fabry–Perot Resonator

Wulfhard K. Lange, Fedor M. Mitschke, R. Deserno +1 more

Optical pumping between ground-state Zeeman sublevels recently has attracted much attention as a nonlinear mechanism in optical bistability and tristability, under both steady-state1 and transient conditions.2 If, in addition to optical feedback, the Zeeman-pumped atoms are subjected to a transverse static magnetic field, new phenomena are known to arise,2–5 the most prominent among them being the self-sustained spin precession.4,5 We report on new results and systematic studies on the various types of magnetically induced optical multistabilities in a sodium-filled Fabry-Perot resonator.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jan 1, 1984•1 citation

Transverse optical bistability and formation of transverse structures in a sodium-filled Fabry-Pérot resonator

J. Nalik, Lois M. Hoffer, Gian Luca Lippi +2 more

We report the observation of transverse optical bistability (TOB) in a sodium-filled Fabry-P\'erot resonator, pumped by circularly polarized light, nearly resonant with the ${\mathit{D}}_{1}$ line, in the presence of a buffer gas, for low vapor density. A sequence of circularly symmetric patterns, ascribable to superpositions of resonator modes, is obtained. The appearance of TOB can be explained in terms of a self-induced intensity-dependent lens formed in the medium by the interaction with the laser light. A simple model that considers the transverse diffusion of the atoms inside the cell provides predictions in good qualitative agreement with the observations.

Physical Review A•Apr 1, 1992•26 citations

Optical multistability in sodium: analysis of a theoretical model

Xiaoguang Wu

We study a theoretical model that describes an optically pumped Fabry–Perot cavity filled with sodium vapor as a nonlinear absorptive medium. The nonlinear medium is subjected to a static magnetic field. A difference of population is built up between Zeeman sublevels of the ground state when the pump exceeds a threshold. This gives rise to a nonsymmetrical absorption of the two circularly polarized components of the incident light. The emphasis of this paper is on the derivation of analytic results. We show that the system can exhibit a self-pulsing behavior and that in a suitable domain of parameters the system has two or more steady states. This is known as optical bistability or optical multistability.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jan 1, 1989•2 citations

Optical bistability by an atomic vapor in a focusing Fabry-Perot cavity

Weston J. Sandle, Alan C. Gallagher

We report experimental observations of dispersive- and absorptive-optical bistability due to saturation of the ${D}_{1}$ line of atomic sodium in a tight-focused Fabry-Perot cavity. Under the conditions of large optical power broadening and substantial collisional broadening by argon buffer gas used for part of the data, the sodium very nearly behaves as a two-level homogeneously broadened absorber. It thus yields a test of the two-level mean-field optical-bistability model. That model, including homogeneous broadening, fails to account quantitatively for the power levels and power dependencies of the cavity transmission. In particular, this model predicts too rapid an onset of atomic saturation with cavity power. In contrast, predictions of a two-level Gaussian-field optical-bistability model for the dependence of transmitted power as a function of laser power and frequency are confirmed by the experimental data. However, there is a remaining discrepancy in the absolute value of the cavity power.

Physical Review A•Oct 1, 1981•53 citations

Aspects of optical bistability in atomic sodium

Werner E Schulz

Experiments were performed on a bistable system consisting of a low finesse cavity and sodium atoms as the nonlinear medium. The atoms were excited by a dye laser system tuned to the D lines. Both ring and Fabry-Perot configurations were employed, and steady-state as well as transient behaviour was investigated. Flat mirrors of approximately 93% reflectivity were used in all experiments. With sodium vapour as the medium, experiments were performed in steady state, and a marked difference was observed in the behaviour of the Fabry-Perot cavity as compared to the ring set-up. This discrepancy could be explained when the sodium transition was modelled as a three - level lambda -type system, where the Doppler width is of the same order of magnitude as the ground state splitting. In this case the atoms with a Doppler shift close to half the ground state splitting have a major influence on the macroscopic refractive index. Extensive computer simulations were performed using this three -level model, and good qualitative agreement between experiment and theory was obtained for both types of cavity. A vacuum system containing a multiple atomic beam apparatus was constructed in order to reduce the Doppler width. Both the ring and the Fabry-Perot configuration could be set up inside the vacuum chamber.. The steady-state experiments displayed bistability when the laser intensity, laser frequency or cavity frequency were cycled. At higher atomic densities the system showed instabilities and multiple switching.

•Jan 1, 1985•0 citations

Two-photon double-beam optical bistability in the dispersive regime

Philippe Grangier, Jean-François Roch, J. Roger +4 more

We report the observation and theoretical interpretation of two-photon double-beam optical bistability, where the nonlinearity is obtained in a two-photon transition in a sodium atomic beam. The experimental results, obtained in the dispersive regime, are compared with a simple crossed-phase-modulation model, and also with a numerical solution of the interaction between the cavity fields and three-level atoms, using the optical Bloch equations. For a wide range of parameters, both models agree with the experimental results. Oscillatory regimes may also appear, in agreement with the predictions of the complete model.

Physical Review A•Sep 1, 1992•26 citations
We report on studies on optical bistability from coherently driven \ensuremathΛ\ensuremath{\Lambda}\ensuremathΛ-type three-level atoms in a Fabry-Perot resonator. The nonlinear mechanism relies on transverse optical pumping and is due to population trapping in a coherent superposition of the ground-state sublevels. If, under appropriate conditions, a zero-field level-crossing resonance (Hanle resonance) occurs in the atomic system, the optical device is shown to display dispersive or absorptive bistability. Our theoretical studies are based on numerical solutions of the corresponding three-level Bloch equations in the presence of optical feedback. Experiments are performed on the D1{D}_{1}D1​ line in a sodium-filled Fabry-Perot resonator using transverse optical Zeeman pumping of the 2S12^{2}S_{\frac{1}{2}}2S21​​ ground state. The measurements are found to be in fair agreement with the theoretical predictions from our simple model.
Optical pumping between ground-state Zeeman sublevels recently has attracted much attention as a nonlinear mechanism in optical bistability and tristability, under both steady-state1 and transient conditions.2 If, in addition to optical feedback, the Zeeman-pumped atoms are subjected to a transverse static magnetic field, new phenomena are known to arise,2–5 the most prominent among them being the self-sustained spin precession.4,5 We report on new results and systematic studies on the various types of magnetically induced optical multistabilities in a sodium-filled Fabry-Perot resonator.
We report the observation of transverse optical bistability (TOB) in a sodium-filled Fabry-P\'erot resonator, pumped by circularly polarized light, nearly resonant with the D1{\mathit{D}}_{1}D1​ line, in the presence of a buffer gas, for low vapor density. A sequence of circularly symmetric patterns, ascribable to superpositions of resonator modes, is obtained. The appearance of TOB can be explained in terms of a self-induced intensity-dependent lens formed in the medium by the interaction with the laser light. A simple model that considers the transverse diffusion of the atoms inside the cell provides predictions in good qualitative agreement with the observations.
We study a theoretical model that describes an optically pumped Fabry–Perot cavity filled with sodium vapor as a nonlinear absorptive medium. The nonlinear medium is subjected to a static magnetic field. A difference of population is built up between Zeeman sublevels of the ground state when the pump exceeds a threshold. This gives rise to a nonsymmetrical absorption of the two circularly polarized components of the incident light. The emphasis of this paper is on the derivation of analytic results. We show that the system can exhibit a self-pulsing behavior and that in a suitable domain of parameters the system has two or more steady states. This is known as optical bistability or optical multistability.
We report experimental observations of dispersive- and absorptive-optical bistability due to saturation of the D1{D}_{1}D1​ line of atomic sodium in a tight-focused Fabry-Perot cavity. Under the conditions of large optical power broadening and substantial collisional broadening by argon buffer gas used for part of the data, the sodium very nearly behaves as a two-level homogeneously broadened absorber. It thus yields a test of the two-level mean-field optical-bistability model. That model, including homogeneous broadening, fails to account quantitatively for the power levels and power dependencies of the cavity transmission. In particular, this model predicts too rapid an onset of atomic saturation with cavity power. In contrast, predictions of a two-level Gaussian-field optical-bistability model for the dependence of transmitted power as a function of laser power and frequency are confirmed by the experimental data. However, there is a remaining discrepancy in the absolute value of the cavity power.
Experiments were performed on a bistable system consisting of a low finesse cavity and sodium atoms as the nonlinear medium. The atoms were excited by a dye laser system tuned to the D lines. Both ring and Fabry-Perot configurations were employed, and steady-state as well as transient behaviour was investigated. Flat mirrors of approximately 93% reflectivity were used in all experiments. With sodium vapour as the medium, experiments were performed in steady state, and a marked difference was observed in the behaviour of the Fabry-Perot cavity as compared to the ring set-up. This discrepancy could be explained when the sodium transition was modelled as a three - level lambda -type system, where the Doppler width is of the same order of magnitude as the ground state splitting. In this case the atoms with a Doppler shift close to half the ground state splitting have a major influence on the macroscopic refractive index. Extensive computer simulations were performed using this three -level model, and good qualitative agreement between experiment and theory was obtained for both types of cavity. A vacuum system containing a multiple atomic beam apparatus was constructed in order to reduce the Doppler width. Both the ring and the Fabry-Perot configuration could be set up inside the vacuum chamber.. The steady-state experiments displayed bistability when the laser intensity, laser frequency or cavity frequency were cycled. At higher atomic densities the system showed instabilities and multiple switching.
We report the observation and theoretical interpretation of two-photon double-beam optical bistability, where the nonlinearity is obtained in a two-photon transition in a sodium atomic beam. The experimental results, obtained in the dispersive regime, are compared with a simple crossed-phase-modulation model, and also with a numerical solution of the interaction between the cavity fields and three-level atoms, using the optical Bloch equations. For a wide range of parameters, both models agree with the experimental results. Oscillatory regimes may also appear, in agreement with the predictions of the complete model.