Metastable chaos in the ammonia ring laser
Abstract
We report experimental studies of metastable chaos in the far-infrared ammonia ring laser. When the laser pump power is switched from above chaos threshold to slightly below, chaotic intensity pulsations continue for a varying time afterward before decaying to either periodic or cw emission. The behavior is in good qualitative agreement with that predicted by the Lorenz equations, previously used to describe this laser. The statistical distribution of the duration of the chaotic transient is measured and shown to be in excellent agreement with the Lorenz equations in showing a modified exponential distribution. We also give a brief numerical analysis and graphical visualization of the Lorenz equations in phase space illustrating the boundary between the metastable chaotic and the stable fixed point basins of attraction. This provides an intuitive understanding of the metastable dynamics of the Lorenz equations and the experimental system.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review A
- Pub Date:
- October 1997
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevA.56.3180
- Bibcode:
- 1997PhRvA..56.3180D
- Keywords:
-
- 42.65.Sf;
- 47.52.+j;
- 42.55.-f;
- 42.60.Mi;
- Dynamics of nonlinear optical systems;
- optical instabilities optical chaos and complexity and optical spatio-temporal dynamics;
- Chaos in fluid dynamics;
- Lasers;
- Dynamical laser instabilities;
- noisy laser behavior