title: Quantum fluctuations in small lasers.
abstract: The dominant role of quantum fluctuations in determining the steady-state and transient response of a laser is demonstrated when there is a small number of particles in the system. In this regime, quantum fluctuations are found to suppress the lasing threshold and create a non-Poisson probability distribution for n discrete excited electronic states and s discrete photons. The correlation between n and s damps the averaged dynamic response of laser emission. Random walk calculations verify the master equation predictions and are used to connect to systems containing larger numbers of particles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0484, USA.
authors.forename: Kaushik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roy-Choudhury
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: A F J
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Levi