Transient polarization dynamics in a CO laser
arXiv:physics/0210086 · doi:10.1016/S0030-4018(03)01114-3
Abstract
We study experimentally and theoretically the polarization alternation during the switch-on transient of a quasi-isotropic CO laser emitting on the fundamental mode. The observed transient dynamics is well reproduced by means of a model which provides a quantitative discrimination between the intrinsic asymmetry due to the kinetic coupling of molecules with different angular momenta, and the extrinsic anisotropies, due to a tilted intracavity window. Furthermore, the experiment provides a numerical assignment for the decay rate of the coherence term for a CO laser.
14 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Opt. Comm