Feasibility of controlling complex dynamics in multi transverse mode lasers

We show that a Periodic Proportional Feedback (PPF) method can he successfully applied to the multi-transverse mode laser. We have simulated the laser by integrating the Maxwell-Bloch equations with the electric field projected onto the empty cavity Gauss-Laguerre modes. By applying the PPF technique to chaotic dynamics of low dimension density, we can control periodic orbits which differ only slightly from the unstable periodic orbits of the system, via modulation of the cavity losses and pump parameters, both for the cylindrically symmetric laser and for the case where the symmetry is removed. Our results show that although various periodic orbits can be controlled temporally, pattern selection (i.e. spatio-temporal control) needs more elaborate techniques.