Rayleigh scattering and atomic dynamics in dissipative optical lattices

Recurrent scattering of spontaneous radiation from a randomly occupied optical lattice

The problem of recurrent scattering of spontaneous radiation from a randomly occupied optical lattice is discussed herein theoretically. The intensity of the scattered radiation is calculated and averaged over the random distribution of atoms trapped inside the lattice. From the intensity of the scattered radiation, two properties of random lasing are derived. First, the random lasing's strongest oscillation has a wavelength comparable to the lattice constant and, second, its emission spectrum is discontinuous. In the present paper, a quantity, the number of multiple scattering channels based on the long-range regularity possessed by an optical lattice, is defined. This quantity is found to significantly determine the magnitudes of the mean intensity of the scattered radiation and the wave decay constant.