Sensing horizontal wind and refractive-turbulence profiles ( C n 2 ) using wave front slope measurements from two reference sources

Abstract

In the theory of atmospheric turbulence, the strength of the spatial variations of the index of refraction n is characterized by the power spectral density (psd) Φ n ( K → ) where K → is the wavenumber vector. The magnitude of Φ n ( K → ) is proportional to a parameter known as the atmospheric structure constant of the refractive index fluctuations. The atmospheric structure constant is denoted C n 2 and is a function of position along the optical path. In addition to spatial variations, n is also characterized by temporal variations. The strength of these temporal variations is directly related to the transverse velocity of the turbulence along the optical path, v.