Journal of the Optical Society of America B
Noise-induced switching via fluctuating atomic coherence in an optical three-level bistable system
Amitabh Joshi, Min Xiao
Abstract
Noise-induced switching caused by fluctuating atomic coherence is experimentally demonstrated in an atomic optical bistable system consisting of three-level atoms in Λ-type configurations confined in an optical ring cavity. The nonlinear phase as a result of enhanced Kerr nonlinearity induced by atomic coherence in the electromagnetically induced transparency system is fluctuating due to the noise in laser parameters and is primarily responsible for such a switching phenomenon.