CLUSTERING RESPONSE TO MULTIMODE LASER GAIN MODULATION AT VERY-LOW FREQUENCY

We consider the influence of an external modulation of the laser gain on the antiphase dynamics of a three-mode solid-state laser with intra cavity second harmonic generation. The modulation frequency is close t o the self-pulsing frequency of an unstable two-mode solution. We find that orthogonally polarized lasing modes display dynamical nonrecipro cal independence: modes in one polarization follow the periodic modula tion in a nearly linear way while modes in the orthogonal polarization display a rich set of bifurcations leading to chaos.