SPATIOTEMPORAL LIGHT STRUCTURES IN A CHAIN OF BISTABLE 2-LEVEL MEDIUMTHIN-FILMS

The light transmission through a system of bistable thin films of two- level atoms (centres) is considered. In the limit of an inertialess tw o-level medium, the problem is reduced to a nonlinear infinite-dimensi on mapping. It is shown that self-pulsation regimes occur when the inc ident light intensity is not enough to switch all bistable elements in to the upper state. For the Gaussian incident beam, spatio-temporal li ght structures are studied. The structure of the transverse profile of the light beam depends to a large extent on the strength of diffracti on, the increase of which leads to formation of smoother profiles, and regimes with a shorter period, Multistability of spatial structures i s also investigated.