Average patterns and coherent phenomena in wide aperture lasers.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics

Background:

• Analyzing laser intensity patterns is crucial for understanding laser behavior.
• Weakly astigmatic, wide-aperture lasers present complex intensity distributions.
• Cavity modes and their spectral properties significantly influence laser output.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a framework for analyzing experimental average intensity patterns in wide aperture, weakly astigmatic lasers.
• To explain the origin of symmetry breaking in these intensity patterns.
• To provide a method for detecting frequency spectra overlaps in fast-dynamics systems.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a realistic model of wide aperture, weakly astigmatic lasers.
• Analyzing the relationship between cavity modes and average intensity patterns.
• Investigating the role of frequency spectra overlaps of modes with different parity.

Main Results:

• The developed framework successfully explains the appearance of experimental average intensity patterns.
• Symmetry breaking in intensity patterns is attributed to overlaps in the frequency spectra of non-vanishing modes with different parity.
• The findings demonstrate a method for experimentally detecting these spectral overlaps.

Conclusions:

• A novel framework enables the analysis of complex laser intensity patterns.
• Frequency spectra overlaps of parity-distinct modes are identified as the cause of symmetry breaking.
• This research offers a tool for characterizing fast-dynamics laser systems through spectral overlap detection.