STRONG INTRACAVITY AND OUTPUT LASER NOISE-REDUCTION VIA INITIAL ATOMIC COHERENCE

We study a nonlinear semiclassical and fully quantum-mechanical theory of a laser with an active medium of three-level atoms that may be ini tially prepared in a coherent superposition and interact with a classi cal external electromagnetic field. In particular, we determine the in tracavity and output photon statistics of the laser light in a broad r ange of parameters. We find an inner sub-Poissonian statistics with a Mandel parameter close to the minimal value -1 when the laser is opera ting with initially prepared atoms, off resonant, and without inversio n of the populations. In another regime, with, however, less favorable intracavity statistics, we find squeezing in the intensity output flu ctuations of 80%, which is well above the present state of art noise r eduction for this kind of coherently driven laser system.