Leading role of optical phase instabilities in the formation of certain laser transverse patterns.

Abstract

The global dynamical behavior of a model describing the formation of one-dimensional transverse patterns in a laser has been investigated. Solutions of the equation for the complex electric field are compared to those of a reduced phase equation, the laser Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation, which should be a good approximation for small detuning. The numerical results show strong evidence of the leading role of the dynamics of the phase of the field in the formation of transverse patterns in a laser with small detuning