Propagation of a Spherical Wave in a Turbulent Medium

Abstract

The log-amplitude covariance and the phase-structure function, associated with the statistics of propagation of a spherical wave in a turbulent medium, are derived for a propagation path over which the statistics of turbulence are constant. Analytic and graphical representation of the results are presented. The theoretical prediction of the zero crossing of the log-amplitude covariance for a spherical wave is found to be in much better agreement with Tatarski’s experimental results than were the results of the infinite-plane wave analysis—as might have been expected, in retrospect, from consideration of the details of Tatarski’s experiment.