Open Access
13 April 2022 Wave-optics investigation of branch-point density
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

We use wave-optics simulations to investigate branch-point density (i.e., the number of branch points within the pupil-phase function) in terms of the grid sampling. The goal for these wave-optics simulations is to model plane-wave propagation through homogeneous turbulence, both with and without the effects of a finite inner scale modeled using a Hill spectrum. In practice, the grid sampling provides a gauge for the amount of branch-point resolution within the wave-optics simulations, whereas the Rytov number, Fried coherence diameter, and isoplanatic angle provide parameters to setup and explore the associated deep-turbulence conditions. Via Monte Carlo averaging, the results show that without the effects of a finite inner scale, the branch-point density grows without bound with adequate grid sampling. However, the results also show that as the inner-scale size increases, this unbounded growth (1) significantly decreases as the Rytov number, Fried coherence diameter, and isoplanatic angle increase in strength and (2) saturates with adequate grid sampling. These findings imply that future developments need to include the effects of a finite inner scale to accurately model the multifaceted nature of the branch-point problem in adaptive optics.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
Jeffrey R. Beck, Jeremy P. Bos, Terry J. Brennan, and Mark F. Spencer "Wave-optics investigation of branch-point density," Optical Engineering 61(4), 044104 (13 April 2022). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.61.4.044104
Received: 19 January 2022; Accepted: 24 March 2022; Published: 13 April 2022
Lens.org Logo
CITATIONS
Cited by 5 scholarly publications.
Advertisement
Advertisement
KEYWORDS
Monte Carlo methods

Turbulence

Optical engineering

Wave propagation

Scintillation

Atmospheric propagation engineering

Reconstruction algorithms

Back to Top