Abstract
It is shown that the bifurcations found in the standard model for optical bistability in a homogeneously broadened unidirectional ring laser, including the bistability threshold and switching points, self-pulsing and the Ikeda instability, can all be understood in terms of a common physical mechanism, the generation and amplification of sidebands by parametric processes. The bifurcation threshold follows from the usual self-oscillation condition in feedback systems. The basic nonlinear processes involved are the production of combination tones and phase-matched forward four-wave mixing. The relevant nonlinear constitutive parameters of the medium are determined. Results previously given in the literature are reviewed and extended to more general situations.
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Nussenzveig, H.M. (1987). Physical Interpretation of Optical Bifurcations. In: Tirapegui, E., Villarroel, D. (eds) Instabilities and Nonequilibrium Structures. Mathematics and Its Applications, vol 33. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3783-3_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3783-3_5
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