Abstract

We describe a conical emission process that occurs when two beams of near-resonant light intersect as they pass through sodium vapor. The light is emitted on the surface of a circular cone that is centered on the bisector of the two applied beams and has an angular extent equal to the crossing angle of the two applied beams. We ascribe the origin of this effect to a perfectly phase-matched four-wave mixing process.

© 1991 Optical Society of America

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