Global solvability of the Maxwell-Bloch equations from nonlinear optics (Q2365374)

The authors study the global solvability of the Maxwell-Bloch system of equations relevant to nonlinear optics and especially to self-focusing phenomena. Maxwell-Bloch equations can be written as follows: \[ \partial_tB+ \nabla\times E=0,\tag{1} \] \[ \partial_tE- \nabla\times B=-\partial_tP,\tag{2} \] \[ \partial^2_tP+\partial_tP/T_2+ \Omega^2P= c_1NE,\tag{3} \] \[ \partial_tN+ (N-N_0)/T_1= -c_2\langle\partial_tP, E\rangle.\tag{4} \] Here \(E(t,x)\), \(B(t,x)\), \(P(t,x)\) are the electric field, magnetic field, and polarization of the medium, respectively. A scalar field \(N(t,x)\) stands for the difference between the number of electrons in the excited state and the ground state per unit value. It should be noted that the Maxwell-Bloch system (1)--(4) which is usually used for studying resonance phenomena, here is used to model wave propagation. The electromagnetic field is modelled classically, while the medium is treated quantum mechanically. In (1)--(4) the scalars \(c_1\) and \(c_2\) are assumed to be nonnegative, the scalars \(T_1\) and \(T_2\) are called the inversion population lifetime and the homogeneous dephasing time; \(\Omega\) is a resonance frequency which corresponds to the principal optical spectral line of the medium. Equations (1) and (2) imply that \[ \partial_t\text{div}(E+ P)=\partial_t\text{div}(B)= 0.\tag{5} \] The physically relevant solutions are those which are obeyed to \[ \text{div}(E+ P)= \text{div}(B)=0.\tag{6} \] Denote \(U(t,x):= (E(t,x),B(t,x), P(t,x),\partial_tP(t,x), N(t,x)- N_0)\). Equation (3) can be written as a system for the pair \((P,Q)\) with \(Q:=\partial_tP\), \(\partial_tP= Q\), \(\partial_tQ=- Q/T_2- \Omega^2P+ c_1NE\). The Maxwell-Bloch system then takes the form of a semilinear symmetric hyperbolic system for \(U\); \(\partial_tU= \sum_{1\leq j\leq 3}A_j\partial_jU+ F(U)\), where \(\partial_j:=\partial/\partial x_j\), the \(A_j\) are symmetric matrices, and \(F:\mathbb{R}^{13}\to\mathbb{R}^{13}\) is a polynomial of degree two which vanishes at the origin. For semilinear hyperbolic equations the following local existence theorem is known: If \(s>3/2\) and \(U(0,\cdot)\in H^s(\mathbb{R}^3)\), then there is a \(T_*\in]0,\infty]\) and a unique \(U\in C([0,T_*[:H^s(\mathbb{R}^3))\) which satisfies the Maxwell-Bloch system and attains these initial values. The main result of this paper is the proof of the following theorem: If \(s>2\) and the initial data \(U(0,\cdot)\in H^s(\mathbb{R}^3)\) satisfy (6), then \(T_*=\infty\). That is, there is a unique global solution belonging to \(C([0,\infty[:H^s(\mathbb{R}^3))\).