Influence of local-field effects on the dynamics of superradiance by a dense medium

The theory of superradiance by an ensemble of two-level atoms embedded in a dielectric host is developed. It is shown that the near dipole-dipole interaction of a dense collection of two-level atoms is enhanced by the presence of the host material, decreasing the pulse temporal width and increasing the peak pulse intensity of superradiative emission. The influence of the inversion-dependent detuning effect on the parameters of the emitted pulses is investigated.