Fractal Phase Screens.
Abstract
A plane wave emergent from a scattering layer is modeled as a boundary value problem. The wave if specified at z = 0(+) by a unit amplitude and a phase prescribed by a homogeneous isotropic random function with a power law spectrum and Gaussian statistics. It is shown that the statistics of the wave propagating in free space away from the boundary cannot be Gaussian, except perhaps in the far field region where the scattering is saturated. It is also shown that the amplitude and intensity spectra of this wave each satisfy specific scaling relations. Such a wave has been called a diffractal by Berry and herein this paper further develops some of his ideas on diffractals, in particular extending his discussion from two or three spatial dimensions. A study of the scintillation index indicates that a diffractal is not an unreasonable model of a radio wave passing through the ionosphere, as it does in satellite communication. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA137804
Entities
People
- B. J. West