Two-mode laser with atoms injected in a superposition of their states

Fam Le Kien*, Georg M. Meyer, Ulrich W. Rathe, Marlan O. Scully, Herbert Walther, Shi Yao Zhu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The master equation for the field in the two-mode laser with atoms injected in a superposition of their states is presented, and lasing without population inversion is studied from this vantage. An explicit expression for the steady-state photon distribution is derived under the conditions of detailed balance and no injected coherence. We study the photon statistics, as well as the decay of off-diagonal density-matrix elements and the linewidths of the two laser modes. The effect of an injected atomic coherence on the amplification of light is examined. It is shown that the interference terms in the master equation cancel the absorption terms if the field in each mode is in a coherent state and the conditions for atomic trapping are fulfilled. Numerical calculations demonstrate the buildup of lasing without inversion from the vacuum state of the field.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3279-3298
Number of pages20
JournalPhysical Review A
Volume52
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1995

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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