title: Threshold and linewidth of a mirrorless parametric oscillator
abstract: We analyze the above-threshold behavior of a mirrorless parametric oscillator based on resonantly enhanced four-wave mixing in a dense atomic vapor. It is shown that, in the ideal limit, an arbitrary small flux of pump photons is sufficient to reach the oscillator threshold. We demonstrate that, due to the large group velocity delays associated with electromagnetically induced transparency, an extremely narrow oscillator linewidth is possible, making a narrow-band source of nonclassical radiation feasible.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 and Sektion Physik, Universitat Munchen, D-80333 Munchen, Germany.
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fleischhauer
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lukin
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Matsko
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Scully