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Threshold of a random laser based on Raman gain in cold atoms

2009; Optica Publishing Group; Volume: 17; Issue: 14 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1364/oe.17.011236

1094-4087

William Guerin, Nicolas Mercadier, Davide Brivio, Robin Kaiser,

Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates

We address the problem of achieving a random laser with a cloud of cold atoms, in which gain and scattering are provided by the same atoms. In this system, the elastic scattering cross-section is related to the complex atomic polarizability. As a consequence, the random laser threshold is expressed as a function of this polarizability, which can be fully determined by spectroscopic measurements. We apply this idea to experimentally evaluate the threshold of a random laser based on Raman gain between non-degenerate Zeeman states and find a critical optical thickness on the order of 200, which is within reach of state-of-the-art cold-atom experiments.