Variational scaling law for atmospheric propagation

Abstract

A new scaling law model for propagation of optical beams through atmospheric turbulence is presented and compared to a common scalar stochastic waveoptics technique. This methodology tracks the evolution of the important beam wavefront and phasefront parameters of a propagating Gaussian-shaped laser field as it moves through atmospheric turbulence, assuming a conservation of power. As with other scaling laws, this variational technique makes multiple simplifying assumptions about the optical beam to capture the essential features of interest, while significantly reducing the computational cost of calculation. This variational scaling law is shown to work reliably with moderately high turbulence strengths.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Apr 22, 2021
Source ID
10.1364/josaa.417705

Entities

People

  • Daniel Cargill
  • Jacob Grosek
  • Sophia Potoczak Bragdon

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Air Force Research Laboratory
  • Colorado State University
  • Lockheed Martin
  • Universities Space Research Association

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.
  • Wave Propagation and Nonlinear Chaotic Dynamics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy