Nonlinear effects in the emission of ion lasers

Nonlinear effects in the emission of ion lasers induced by the electric field of the gas discharge plasma are investigated theoretically. Stability criteria are derived for various lasing conditions. It is found that acceleration effects lead to the alternation of single-mode and double-mode operation. The effect of plasma fields on the Lamb shift in the emission spectra is examined. It is shown that in a ring laser the frequencies of the two opposite traveling waves may split under the effect of the discharge field.