Correlated-emission laser: Phase noise quenching via coherent pumping and the effect of atomic motion

Abstract

We show that in a three-level system, if the atoms are initially prepared in a coherent superposition of the two upper states, as in Hanle experiments, the spontaneous-emission events from these two states to the lowest one can, under certain conditions, be strongly correlated, with a vanishing diffusion constant for the relative phase. The conditions under which correlated spontaneous emission occurs in a Hanle laser remain essentially unchanged if atomic motion is included.