Angular spread of partially coherent Hermite-cosh-Gaussian beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence.

Abstract

The propagation of partially coherent Hermite-cosh-Gaussian (H-ChG) beams through atmospheric turbulence is studied in detail. The analytical expression for the angular spread of partially coherent H-ChG beams in turbulence is derived. It is shown that the angular spread of partially coherent H-ChG beams with smaller spatial correlation length σ₀, smaller waist width w ₀, smaller beam parameter Ω₀, and larger beam orders m, n is less affected by turbulence than that of partially coherent H-ChG beams with larger σ₀, w ₀, Ω₀, and smaller m, n. Under a certain condition partially coherent H-ChG beams may generate the same angular spread as a fully coherent Gaussian beam in free space and also in atmospheric turbulence. The angular spread of partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian (H-G), cosh-Gaussian (ChG), Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beams, and fully coherent H-ChG, H-G, ChG, Gaussian beams is studied and treated as special cases of partially coherent H-ChG beams. The results are interpreted physically.