The classical modeling approach for laser study relies on the differential equations. In this paper, a cellular automaton model is proposed as an alternative for the simulation of population dynamics. Even though the model is simplified it captures the essence of laser phenomenology: (i) there is a threshold pumping rate that depends inversely on the decaying lifetime of the atoms and the photons; and (ii) depending on these lifetimes and on the pumping rate, a constant or an oscillatory behavior can be observed. More complex behaviors such as spiking and pattern formation can also be studied with the cellular automaton model.
The different kinds of behavior exhibited by the system in a laser dynamics simulation using a cellular automata model are analyzed. Three distinct types of behavior have been found: laser constant operation, laser spiking and a complex behavior showing irregular oscillations. In the last case, the power spectrum follows a power law of the type 1/f − with exponent close to = 2. In the laser spiking regime, the dependence of the decay rate of the oscillations is found to be in good agreement with the predictions of the theoretical laser rate equations and the experimental phenomenology. In our model the system components evolve under local rules which reproduce the physics of the laser system at the microscopic level, and the laser properties appear as cooperative emergent phenomena associated to these rules.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.