Atmospheric turbulence imparts phase distortions on propagating optical waves. These distortions couple into amplitude uctuations at the pupil of a telescope, which, for strong enough phase distortions, produce branch points (zeros in the amplitude). In our earlier work we have presented the case that branch points can be utilized as a source of information on the turbulent atmosphere. Using our bench-top data, we have demonstrated several properties of branch points including motion, density, persistence and separation. We have identied empirical relationships for density and separation as functions of the strength and altitude for a single layer. However, this work was done using a bench-top adaptive optics system utilizing a two-layer atmospheric turbulence simulator. In this rst paper, we use independently anchored wave optics simulations to verify these results. This simulation provides a means to further examine how the turbulence conditions contribute to the branch point distribution. Additionally, we look at the role of the inner scale in the formation of branch points within the optical simulation. The companion paper will examine the properties of branch point velocity and persistence.

Date Published: 7 May 2012
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 8380, Atmospheric Propagation IX, 83800O (7 May 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.921479

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8380:
Atmospheric Propagation IX
Linda M. Wasiczko Thomas; Earl J. Spillar, Editor(s)