Stimulated emission times this net transition rate. In order for this to be a positive number, indicating net stimulated emission, there must be more atoms in the excited state than in the lower level: formula_6. Otherwise there is net absorption and the power of the wave is reduced during passage through the medium. The special condition formula_7 is known as a population inversion, a rather unusual condition that must be effected in the gain medium of a laser. The notable characteristic of stimulated emission compared to everyday light sources (which depend on spontaneous emission) is that the emitted photons have the same
Stimulated emission an atomic or molecular resonance, the spectral line shape function is described as a Lorentzian distribution where formula_12 is the full width at half maximum or FWHM bandwidth. The peak value of the Lorentzian line shape occurs at the line center, formula_13. A line shape function can be normalized so that its value at formula_9 is unity; in the case of a Lorentzian we obtain Thus stimulated emission at frequencies away from formula_9 is reduced by this factor. In practice there may also be broadening of the line shape due to inhomogeneous broadening, most notably due to the Doppler effect