Stochastic resonance in free-electron lasers - art. no. 016502

We present evidence of stochastic resonance in free-electron lasers. In ord er to do that, we have analyzed theoretically the dynamics of a free-electr on laser oscillator. A weak modulation and a noise source have been applied to the initial energy of the electron beam. We have found stochastic reson ance for different frequencies and amplitudes of the modulation. A threshol d crossing mechanism leads to the stochastic resonance in this system.