Evidence for degenerate mirrorless lasing in alkali metal vapor: forward beam magneto-optical experiment

We report an experimental observation of degenerate mirrorless lasing in forward direction under excitation of a dilute atomic Rb vapor with a single linearly polarized cw laser light resonant with cycling Fe > Fg atomic D2 transitions. Light polarized orthogonally to the laser light is generated for the input light intensity exceeding a threshold value of about 3 mW/cm^2. Application of a transverse magnetic field directed along the input light polarization reveals a sharp about 20 mG wide magnetic resonance centered at B = 0. Increasing the incident light intensity from 3 to 300 mW/cm^2, the generated light undergoes rapid amplitude increase followed by a decline and resonance broadeni…