Abstract

Lasers are among the most versatile physical systems for the study of the dynamic behaviour of nonlinear dissipative systems. Particularly relevant in this respect are coherently pumped lasers, which exhibit a wealth of instabilities and have allowed the first observation^[1] in science of a behaviour remarkably similar to the predictions of the Lorenz-Haken model, and also the first observation^[2] in an optical system of a family of transitions to chaos by type-III intermittency. These last two observations^[1,2] were performed on the same NH₃ far-infrared laser operating in different domains of the control parameter space.

© 1992 IQEC