Theory of two-photon double-beam optical bistability

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Abstract
Transmission characteristics of a nonlinear Fabry-Perot interferometer with two independent optical beams are considered under steady-state conditions. The sum frequency of two beams is taken to be near a two-photon resonance of the nonlinear medium. Two beams are coupled through the intensity-dependent susceptibility and influence propagation of each other in a mutual way. A set of two coupled-state equations is derived and it incorporates saturated absorption and dispersion as well as the effect of optical Stark shift. The system is found to have as many as seven stationary states, and at most, three are stable among them. The degenerate case of a single beam in two-photon resonance with the medium is also considered with particular emphasis on the effect of the optical Stark shift on optical bistability.