Directional bistability and nonreciprocal lasing with cold atoms in a ring cavity

B. Megyeri, G. Harvie, A. Lampis, J. Goldwin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
261 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We demonstrate lasing into counterpropagating modes of a ring cavity using a gas of cold atoms as a gain medium. The laser operates under the usual conditions of magneto-optical trapping with no additional fields. We characterize the threshold behavior of the laser and measure the second-order optical coherence. The laser emission exhibits directional bistability, switching randomly between clockwise and counterclockwise modes, and a tunable nonreciprocity is observed as the atoms are displaced along the cavity axis.
Original languageEnglish
Article number163603
Number of pages5
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume121
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Oct 2018

Keywords

  • lasers
  • cavity quantum electrodynamics
  • Cold atoms
  • Quantum optics
  • nonlinear optics
  • atomic, molecular & optical

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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