Stimulated light scattering in inverted carbon dioxide induced by a thermal nonlinearity

A theoretical analysis is made of some features of stimulated light scattering which may occur as a result of the dependence of the rate of heat release on the radiation intensity in the active medium of a CO₂ laser. The main energy and spectral characteristics of this process are found. It is shown that the parameters of the scattered radiation depend strongly on the time lag of the heat release which is governed by the relationship between the modulation period of the radiation intensity and the characteristic time of the radiation-induced heating of the medium.