An introductory monograph exploring the dynamic properties of lasers. Analogies of laser dynamics with dynamic, chaotic and turbulent processes in nature are made evident. Subjects covered range from the history of laser dynamics to the basic theoretical models of nonlinear dynamics, to the several types of lasers used in practice. Technical questions of nonlinear laser phenomena are discussed in detail and the book is aimed at scientists and engineers in universities, research institutes, and those working in industry in the fields of laser physics and technology, optics, and nonlinear dynamics.
Historical background, properties of lasers; some basic illustrative examples; nonlinear dynamic behaviour - mathematical concepts; characterization of chaotic behaviour; two-level single-mode gas lasers; lasers with saturable absorbers; lasers with added degrees of freedom; three-level optically pumped single-mode gas lasers; multimode lasers; transverse effects and spatial instabilities.