Fluence of pump coherence on the dynamic behavior of a laser

The dynamic behavior of a coherently pumped single-mode unidirectional ring laser with a homogeneously broadened three-level active medium is studied. Our formulation is based on a set often real equations of the plane-wave, mean-field Maxwell-Bloch type. The instability domain in the main control parameters space is determined. Our numerical study of these equations for a parameter range of the type explored in the recent experiments by Weiss and Brock [Phys. Rev. Lett. 57, 2804 (1986)] reveals some similarities, but striking differences between our theoretical predictions and their experimental observations are also noted. © 1988, Optical Society of America.