Weak turbulent behavior and dynamical frequency locking in a high-Fresnel-number laser

A correlation experiment together with previous experimental information supports the existence of a very disordered state in a high-Fresnel-number dye laser that was studied. All the experimental evidence points out that the disordered state can be indentified with weak turbulence, allowing for the description of real turbulence (not only chaos) in a real laser device. The experimental results are analyzed on the basis of a discrete model derived from the Maxwell-Bloch laser equations. The model explains the parameter-independent frequency locking, the power-law dependence of the averaged energy fluctuations on the averaging region, the local decorrelation, and the chaos found in the experiments. Other characteristics of the model equations are also reported.