Influence of asymmetry turbulence cells on the angle of arrival fluctuations of optical waves in anisotropic non-Kolmogorov turbulence.

Abstract

Theoretical and experimental investigations have shown that the atmospheric turbulence exhibits both anisotropic and non-Kolmogorov properties. Very recent analyses of angle of arrival (AOA) fluctuations of an optical wave in anisotropic non-Kolmogorov turbulence have adopted the assumption that the propagation path was in the z-direction with circular symmetry of turbulence cells maintained in the orthogonal xy-plane throughout the path, and one single anisotropy factor was adopted in the orthogonal xy-plane to parameterize the asymmetry of turbulence cells or eddies in both horizontal and vertical directions. In this work, the circular symmetry assumption of turbulence cells or eddies in the orthogonal xy-plane is no longer required, and two anisotropy parameters are introduced in the orthogonal xy-plane to investigate the AOA fluctuations. In addition, deviations from the classic 11/3 spectral power law behavior for Kolmogorov turbulence are allowed by assuming spectral power law value variations between 3 and 4. With the Rytov approximation theory, new theoretical models for the variance of AOA fluctuations are developed for optical plane and spherical waves propagating through weak anisotropic non-Kolmogorov atmospheric turbulence. When the two anisotropic parameters are equal to each other, they reduce correctly to the recently published results (the circular symmetry assumption of turbulence cells or eddies in the orthogonal xy-plane was adopted). Furthermore, when these two anisotropic parameters equal one, they reduce correctly to the previously published analytic expressions for the cases of optical wave propagation through weak isotropic non-Kolmogorov turbulence.