ON THE EXPERIMENTAL ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SELF-PULSING REGIME OF THE LORENZ MODEL FOR SINGLE-MODE HOMOGENEOUSLY BROADENED LASERS

The transverse and longitudinal relaxation rates of optically pumped molecular lasers are examined with respect to the self-pulsing solutions predicted by the Lorenz model. We conclude that even in the limit of strong inversion effects (NH//3), the required ratio gamma / gamma // PERPEND less than equivalent to 0. 2 is not accessible. This suggests that the experimental measurements of self-pulsing in these lasers are not a definitive observation of a Lorenz-type instability.