Semiclassical and quantum theory of the bistability in lasers containing saturable absorbers. II

Abstract

We consider the time-evolution equation for the Glauber distribution function of the field emitted by a laser with saturable absorber and investigate the role of the terms with derivatives of order higher than second. It is found that the main effect of these terms is the following: When the relative saturability of the passive atoms with respect to the active atoms is very high, the (first-order-like) transition is much sharper than predicted by the Fokker-Planck equation.