Bistable Parameters Research Articles

Exact solution for dispersive optical bistability with inhomogeneous broadening

We solve exactly at steady state. fully including propagation effects, the Maxwell–Bloch equations for dispersive optical bistability from an inhomogeneously broadened atomic system placed in a ring cavity. In order to obtain an analytical solution, a Lorentzian atomic line shape is assumed. In the so-called mean-field limit, the exact solution approaches the previously derived mean-field-state equation. For large values of the bistability parameter, one finds situations with multistability.

On the use of the mean-field theory in optical bistability

The validity of the mean-field approximation in the theory of optical bistability is discussed. We show that major deviations from its predictions may occur if the mirrorreflectivity is decreased below a value which is strongly dependent on the bistability parameter C, and if the absorption α L is larger than a value weakly dependent on C (α L⪆4).