Polarization multistability in a ring resonator with a nonlinear optically active medium

An analysis is made of the propagation of a plane electromagnetic wave through a ring resonator containing a cell with a nonlinear optically active liquid. The influence of the spatial dispersion of the cubic nonlinearity on the amplitude and polarization characteristics of the output radiation is investigated in the steady-state regime. The transient problem is solved numerically in the instability region. It is shown that random changes in the intensity, ellipticity, and angle of rotation of the polarization ellipse of the output radiation are possible for certain values of the intensity of linearly polarized pump radiation, resonator parameters, and properties of the medium.