Two-photon amplification and lasing in laser-driven potassium atoms: theoretical analysis

Summary form only given. The two-photon laser is a new type of quantum oscillator based on the two-photon stimulated emission process. The laser is intrinsically nonlinear due to the nature of the stimulated emission and is thus expected to display novel nonlinear phenomena. While there has been continued interest in two-photon lasers since the original conception significant progress has been hampered by the difficulty in achieving two-photon lasing. In this contribution we summarize a model of the interaction between two intense fields and a collection of potassium atoms and use it to explain features of the recent two-photon experiments and to make predictions for future experiments.