Limits on Wave Optics Simulations of Plane Wave Propagation in Non-Kolmogorov Turbulence

TL;DR

This paper establishes limits for wave optics simulations of plane wave propagation in non-Kolmogorov turbulence, analyzing how turbulence strength and power-law affect scintillation and simulation feasibility.

Contribution

It derives fundamental limits for wave optics simulations in non-Kolmogorov turbulence and explores the impact of turbulence parameters on scintillation and simulation accuracy.

Findings

Simulation limits depend on turbulence power-law and Rytov number.

Peak scintillation increases monotonically with turbulence power-law.

The relationship between scintillation index and power-law varies with turbulence strength.

Abstract

We derive limits for wave optics simulations of plane wave propagation in non-Kolmogorov turbulence using the split-step method and thin phase screens. These limits are used to inform two simulation campaigns where the relationship between volume turbulence strength and normalized intensity variance for various non-Kolmogorov power-laws. We find that simulations of smaller power laws are limited turbulence strengths with Rytov numbers of 7 when the simulation side-length sampling rate is 8192. Under these same conditions it is possible to simulate volume turbulence strength out to Rytov numbers of 12 for Kolmogorov power-laws and higher. We show that the peak scintillation and Rytov number where peak scintillation occur increases monotonically with power-law. Also, that if turbulence strength is fixed, the relationship between scintillation index and power-law depends on the operating regime. In weak turbulence the relationship is negative, and it is positive in stronger turbulence. This work also emphasizes the importance of properly scaling turbulence strength with comparing results with different power-laws and the influence and importance of defining inner and outer scales in these simulations.