The strictly quantum driven Dicke model of
N
two-level atoms on the same site shows conventional optical bistability if and only if cavity feedback is included. In this model we find that for
N
->oo the photon statistics of the transmitted field are Poisson on the lower branch of the output-input curve, but on the upper branch approach Bose-Einstein in the hysteresis region, with reversion to Poisson only for very strong input fields.
Collective atomic correlations in absorptive optical bistability without adiabatic elimination: Exemplifying nonclassicality from a linearized treatment of fluctuations
