Light-wave polarization bistability in a gyrotropic magnetic medium

A linearly polarized light wave enters a Fabry–Pe´rot cavity containing a MnSerZnTe superlattice. The helical axis is perpendicular to the cavity walls, and an external magnetic field is parallel to that axis. The coherence matrix is calculated and the polarization state of the outgoing beam is determined. It is shown that the ratio of the semi-axes of the polarization ellipse and the spatial orientation of the ellipse major axis as functions of the incoming light intensity exhibit bistable behaviour. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.