Stability diagram of the collective atomic recoil laser with thermal atoms

We experimentally investigate cold thermal atoms in a single sidedly pumped optical ring resonator for temperatures between 0.4 and 9 mu K. The threshold for collective atomic recoil lasing (CARL) is recorded for various pump-cavity detunings. The resulting stability diagram is interpreted by simulating the classical CARL equations. We find that the stability diagram for thermal atoms shows the same asymmetry as observed for Bose-Einstein condensates in previous experiments. Whereas for condensates the asymmetry is well explained by a Dicke-type quantum model we here discuss a simplified classical model. It complements the quantum model and provides an intuitive explanation based on the change in the long-range atomic interaction with pump-cavity detuning.