Dynamics of activated escape and its observation in a semiconductor laser

    Authors

    J. Hales; A. Zhukov; R. Roy;M. I. Dykman

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Phys. Rev. Lett.

    Keywords

    OPTICAL FEEDBACK; STOCHASTIC RESONANCE; SYSTEMS; KRAMERS; NOISE; FLUCTUATIONS; INSTABILITY; Physics, Multidisciplinary

    Abstract

    We report a direct experimental observation and provide a theory of the distribution of trajectories along which a fluctuating system moves over a potential barrier in escape from a metastable state. The experimental results are obtained for a semiconductor laser with optical feedback. The distribution of paths displays a distinct peak, which shows how the escaping system is most likely to move. We argue that the specific features of this distribution may give an insight into the nature of dropout events in lasers.

    Journal Title

    Physical Review Letters

    Volume

    85

    Issue/Number

    1

    Publication Date

    1-1-2000

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    78

    Last Page

    81

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000087959400020

    ISSN

    0031-9007

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