BIFURCATION STRUCTURES IN A MODEL OF A CO2 LASER WITH A FAST SATURABLE ABSORBER

We consider a new mathematical model of a CO2 laser with a fast saturable absorber. The system exhibits isolas of periodic solutions, along with their bifurcations, as the main parameter, the incoherent pump of the laser, is changed. The characteristic feature of these lasers is their spiking behavior; the spikes, passive Q-switching pulses, correspond to stable periodic solutions on the isolas. We also study the changes in the solution structure as a second parameter varies, namely, the one that is responsible for the extent of nonlinear losses. In particular, we determine what happens to the isolas and to the stability properties of the periodic solutions along them.