Quantummechanical solutions of the laser masterequation I

The masterequation for the statistical operatorW of a Laser mode andA active two-level atoms 1 is solved by using the coherent state representation 2 of the lightfield. The ansatz forW represents the most general symmetrical coupling of the light mode to all atoms and therefore contains the full influence of quantum fluctuations of the atomic system on the light mode. The system of equations can be solved practically exactly in the stationary case and leads to a photon number distribution in the laser valid for arbitrary pumping. This distribution agrees with that found by a Fokker-Planck equation 3 for not too high pumping and approaches the Poisson distribution for very high pumping. The smooth transition of the inversion from σ₀ (below threshold) to σ (above threshold) can also be calculated.