Excess Noise Introduced by Beam Propagation Through an Atomic Vapor

Abstract

We propose and show experimental evidence of a mechanism that is important in reducing the amount of noise reduction that can be achieved at low (<100 MHz) frequencies utilizing atomic vapors as the nonlinear medium.1 The mechanism is based on the two-beam-coupling gain2 experienced by the vacuum sidebands of a weak probe wave as it interacts with a strong degenerate pump wave in an atomic vapor. The mechanism leads to the amplification of intensity fluctuations of an initially shot-noise-limited probe field.