  A semi-classical theory of coherent light scattering from an elongated sample
of cold atoms exposed to an off-resonant laser beam is presented. The model,
which is a direct extension of that of the collective atomic recoil laser
(CARL), describes the emission of two superradiant pulses along the sample's
major axis simultaneous with the formation of a bidimensional atomic grating
inside the sample. It provides a simple physical picture of the recent
observation of collective light scattering from a Bose-Einstein condensate [S.
Inouye et al., Science N.285, p. 571 (1999)]. In addition, the model provides
an analytical description of the temporal evolution of the scattered light
intensity which shows good quantitative agreement with the experimental results
of Inouye et al.
