Two-photon double-beam optical bistability in the dispersive regime

Philippe Grangier (1) , Jean-François Roch (1) , Gérard Roger (1) , L. A. Lugiato (2) , E.M. Pessina (2) , G. Scandroglio (2) , P. Galatola (3)

1 Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Optique quantique
2 Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Università
3 Dipartimento di Fisica del Politecnico

We report the observation and theoretical interpretation of two-photon double-beam optical bistability, where the nonlinearity is obtained in a two-photon transition in a sodium atomic beam. The experimental results, obtained in the dispersive regime, are compared with a simple crossed-phase-modulation model, and also with a numerical solution of the interaction between the cavity fields and three-level atoms, using the optical Bloch equations. For a wide range of parameters, both models agree with the experimental results. Oscillatory regimes may also appear, in agreement with the predictions of the complete model.

Domains: Quantum Physics [quant-ph]

Philippe Grangier, Jean-François Roch, Gérard Roger, L. A. Lugiato, E.M. Pessina, et al.. Two-photon double-beam optical bistability in the dispersive regime. Physical Review A : Atomic, molecular, and optical physics [1990-2015], 1992, 46, pp.2735-2743. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevA.46.2735⟩. ⟨hal-00559091⟩