Effects of organized turbulence structures on the phase distortion in a coherent optical beam propagating through a turbulent shear flow

Abstract

Effects of organized turbulence structures on the propagation of an optical beam in a turbulent shear flow have been analyzed. An instantaneous passive-scalar field in a computed homogeneous turbulent shear flow is used to represent index-of-refraction fluctuations, and phase distortion induced in a coherent optical beam by turbulent fluctuations is calculated. The organized vortical structures (‘‘hairpin-shaped’’ eddies) in the turbulent flow give rise to a scalar distribution with elongated regions of intense fluctuation, which have an inclination (about 30°) with respect to the mean flow, similar to that of the characteristic ‘‘hairpin’’ eddies. Two-point correlations of vorticity and scalar fluctuations support a proposed physical model in which the regions of intense scalar fluctuation are produced primarily by hairpin vortices. It is found that the spatial distribution of the phase distortion has a substantial variation with the direction of propagation. A highly localized distribution of intense phase distortions is produced when the optical beam propagates at an angle (45°) close to the inclination of hairpin vortices; at larger angles of propagation the distribution shows an elongated pattern with smaller phase distortions. It is also found that the root-mean-square phase distortion depends significantly on the propagation direction, and the phase distortion can be minimized at an angle of propagation approximately normal to the inclination of hairpin eddies. This study shows how the characteristics of an optical beam propagating through a turbulent shear flow are affected by the geometrical configurations of organized vortical structures.