Intensity fluctuations in steady state superradiance

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the noise properties of steady state superradiant light from alkaline-earth atoms, revealing its bunching, coherence, and chaotic behavior across different regimes, which is crucial for precision applications.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of intensity fluctuations in steady state superradiance using simulations and approximations, advancing understanding of its noise characteristics.

Findings

Light exhibits bunching below threshold

Light is coherent in the superradiant regime

Light becomes chaotic above the second threshold

Abstract

Alkaline-earth like atoms with ultra-narrow optical transitions enable superradiance in steady state. The emitted light promises to have an unprecedented stability with a linewidth as narrow as a few millihertz. In order to evaluate the potential usefulness of this light source as an ultrastable oscillator in clock and precision metrology applications it is crucial to understand the noise properties of this device. In this paper we present a detailed analysis of the intensity fluctuations by means of Monte-Carlo simulations and semi-classical approximations. We find that the light exhibits bunching below threshold, is to a good approximation coherent in the superradiant regime, and is chaotic above the second threshold.