Abstract

Recently laser oscillation with an average number of atoms less than unity inside an optical reonator has been demonstrated [ 1 ]. Apart from taking place in the optical regime, the experiments differ from micromaser experiments in several ways: the atoms are injected with a thermal velocity distribution, the atoms arrive in the cavity with laser excited mean electric dipoles, and the lasing mode has a spatial dependence, TEM₀₀, with a Gaussian transverse variation and several longitudinal field nodes over the intesection with the atomic beam.

© 1996 Optical Society of America