Degenerate four-wave mixing with the phase diffusion field

Journal Article · Sat May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Bulletin of the American Physical Society

OSTI ID:281205

Anderson, M H; Chen, CE; Elliott, D S; Cooper, J; Smith, S J

We report measurements of the effect of laser fluctuations on a strong-field degenerate four-wave mixing interaction, carried out in a nearly Doppler-free, two-level system using a single laser with statistically well-defined phase fluctuations. The counterpropagating pump beams and the probe beam, each split from this phase-noise-modulated source, were fully correlated. The nonlinear medium was an optically-pumped diffuse beam of atomic sodium. By time-delaying the probe with respect to the pump beams, the composite field becomes non-Markovian. Four-wave mixing results in the generation of a phase-conjugate beam anti-parallel to the probe beam. With the laser field spectrum nearly Lorentzian in shape, and with a field linewidth greater (and, for comparison, much narrower) than the natural linewidth of the sodium, we measured the intensity of the phase-conjugate beam as the pump and probe beams were tuned through the D2 resonance, as a function of intensity of die pump beam (up to intensities several times the saturation intensity), and for varying delay between the pump and probe fields. This experiment provides a cleaner measurement of this interaction than any previously available.

• OSTI ID: 281205
• Report Number(s): CONF-9305421--
• Journal Information: Bulletin of the American Physical Society, Journal Name: Bulletin of the American Physical Society Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 38; ISSN BAPSA6; ISSN 0003-0503
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
FLUCTUATIONS
FREQUENCY MIXING
LASER RADIATION
OPTICAL PUMPING
SODIUM