Speckle propagation through turbulence: Experimental*

Abstract

Statistical characteristics of speckle fields propagated through the turbulent atmosphere are experimentally investigated. The results of measurements of the probability distribution function and their moments, and the spatial covariance function are compared with a recent theoretical treatment of the problem. The results are in good agreement in weak turbulence conditions, while the stronger turbulence results differ significantly from the theory and suggest the need for additional analytical work.