Nonlinear dynamics of solid-state ring lasers

The nonlinear dynamics of a solid-state ring laser (SSRL) is studied theoretically and experimentally. We have identified the parametric mechanism for the excitation of the relaxation oscillations in an autonomous SSRL operating in the self-modulation regime of the first kind. The nonlinear shifts of the frequencies of the relaxation and self-modulation oscillations and their mutual synchronization in zones of parametric resonance are investigated. It is shown that in these regions the following bifurcations can occur: doubling of a period of the self-modulation oscillations and the appearance of dynamical chaos. The spectrum oi the Lyapunov exponents and the information dimension of the strange attractor have been found. It is shown that using a semiclassical model of SSRL one can explain all experimentally observed features of the nonlinear dynamics of the ring laser under consideration.