Long distance propagation of light in random media with partially coherent sources

TL;DR

This paper investigates how partially coherent light beams propagate through random media, revealing how their statistical properties can influence speckle patterns and scintillation effects in weak-coupling regimes.

Contribution

It introduces a model analyzing the interaction between partially coherent beams and random media, highlighting effects on speckle and scintillation.

Findings

Partially coherent beams can modify speckle patterns in random media.

The model predicts enhancement or suppression of scintillation effects.

Spatio-temporal statistics are crucial for understanding beam propagation in randomness.

Abstract

Optical beam propagation in random media is characterized by familiar speckle patterns generated by intricate interference effects. Such patterns may be modified and possibly attenuated for partially coherent incident beam profiles. In the weak-coupling regime of the It\^o-Schr\"odinger paraxial model of wave propagation, we show how the spatio-temporal statistics of the partially coherent beams interact with the statistics of the random medium to enhance or suppress scintillation effects.