Abstract

Numerical analysis of the Maxwell—Bloch equations shows that the normal incidence reflection of a plane monochromatic wave at the boundary of an absorber built up by independent two-level systems at rest exhibits bistable behavior. The propagation equation is where F is the rescaled field amplitude at each point of the absorber and ψ is another dimensionless parameter that accounts for the strength of the coupling.

© 1985 Optical Society of America