pumpcoupled

Pumpcoupled, often written pump-coupled, is a descriptive term used in physics and engineering to denote a system in which one subsystem is externally driven by a pump and is dynamically coupled to a second subsystem. The coupling enables energy, information, or excitations to be exchanged between the components, so that the behavior of the pair cannot be understood by considering either part in isolation. The term is used across domains such as optics, quantum systems, and mechanical oscillators.

In photonics and laser physics, a pump-coupled arrangement typically consists of a gain element or resonator that is optically or electrically pumped, together with a neighboring mode, resonator, or waveguide that it exchanges energy with. Coupling can be achieved via evanescent fields, capacitive or inductive links, or mechanical contact. The pump acts as a driving term that sustains amplification, while the coupling mediates energy transfer and mode competition, often leading to nonlinear dynamics such as synchronization, mode-locking, or bistability.

Mathematically, pump-coupled systems are modeled by coupled differential equations for the complex amplitudes or state variables of the subsystems. A typical form includes a pump term driving the first component, intrinsic losses, detuning, and a coupling coefficient linking the equations. Steady states and their stability depend on the pump strength, coupling strength, detuning, and nonlinear responses. Analysis often uses perturbation theory, bifurcation analysis, or numerical simulations.

Applications of pump-coupled concepts include coupled laser resonators, photonics circuits, optical memories, and nano- or microelectromechanical systems where an active element is driven while interacting with a secondary degree of freedom. The framework provides a model for energy transfer, synchronization phenomena, and controlled switching in complex driven systems. See also injection locking, mode coupling, and parametric coupling.