Abstract

The fluctuations and correlations of the light intensities associated with the two counterrotating modes of a ring laser have been investigated by measurement of the photoelectric counting statistics. With the laser tuned to line center, it is found that the weaker mode intensity does not grow with increasing pump parameter above threshold and that its relative intensity fluctuations do not die out, as in a conventional laser, but become thermal instead. The cross-correlation coefficient tends toward a constant negative value. The results are all in substantial quantitative agreement with the theory.

© 1977 Optical Society of America

Effects of Radiation Trapping on Mode Competition and Dispersion in the Ring Laser

Frederick Aronowitz
Appl. Opt. 11(10) 2146-2152 (1972)

Investigation of time-dependent correlation properties of the bidirectional dye ring laser

P. Lett and L. Mandel
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 2(10) 1615-1625 (1985)

Photoelectric counting measurements as a test for the existence of photons*

L. Mandel
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 67(8) 1101-1104 (1977)

Effect of mode competition on beam divergence in a ring laser

Surendra Singh and L. Mandel
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 70(2) 252-253 (1980)

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I. Leyva, E. Allaria, and R. Meucci
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