Physical Review A

Intrinsic optical bistability in collections of spatially distributed two-level atoms

Y. Ben-Aryeh, C. M. Bowden, John C. Englund

Published Nov 1, 1986• 156 citations

Abstract

We use a quantum-electrodynamical, many-body treatment to show mirrorless optical bistability in terms of the spatial properties of coherent dipole-dipole interactions among interacting two-level atoms. The general theory is applied to two special cases: (1) a thin sample of two-level atoms, with a width smaller than a resonance wavelength and (2) a long sample of two-level atoms, with dimensions very large relative to a resonance wavelength. While for the thin sample we are able to use a mean-field approximation with validity, for the long sample we are compelled to take into account retardation and propagation. In both cases bistability is found to be related to a renormalization of the frequency (or relaxation rate) that is inversion dependent. For the long sample the frequency renormalization is significant for high atomic densities and for large oscillator strengths.

DOI: 10.1103/physreva.34.3917

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