Polarization eigenstates of a Zeeman laser

Abstract

Using a Stokes vector formalism, we discuss the polarization eigenstates of a Zeeman ring laser with comparable passive-cavity circular and linear anisotropies; we consider conditions under which saturation is unimportant. We find that the polarization eigenstates are, in general, not orthogonal, and, for high-gain systems, the dispersion relations may admit of as many as six frequencies and polarization eigenstates for a given wavelength.