Abstract
In ordinary optical phenomena, such quantities as the absorption coefficient and the refractive index of a medium are independent of the light intensity and are constant. But, as may be understood from the discussion in the preceding chapter, the effects of a coherent interaction between the laser field and matter are nonlinear with intensity and not stationary in time. For a weak field, the polarization P of the medium is proportional to the optical field E and is linear, but it generally becomes nonlinear for a strong field. When the polarization P is not proportional to the field E, the susceptibility χ is not constant, nor are the absorption coefficient and the refractive index. As a result, nonlinear optical phenomena appear, which could not be expected in ordinary linear optics.
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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Shimoda, K. (1986). Nonlinear Coherent Effects. In: Introduction to Laser Physics. Springer Series in Optical Sciences, vol 44. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38954-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38954-5_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-16713-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-38954-5
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