Propagation factor of partially coherent radially polarized vortex beams in anisotropic turbulent atmosphere

Abstract

We skillfully combined the cosine theorem with the second moment theory and the Wigner distribution function and derived the analytical expressions of the propagation factor (<i>M</i>²-factor) of a partially coherent radially polarized vortex beam (PCRPVB) in atmospheric turbulence. Then, we comparatively studied the propagation factors of a PCRPVB and a partially coherent electromagnetic vortex beam (PCEVB) in atmospheric turbulence. The results show that a PCRPVB has a smaller value of a relative <i>M</i>²-factor than a PCEVB, which means that a PCRPVB has a stronger ability to resist atmospheric turbulence than a PCEVB. To confirm our theoretical studies, the hyperbolic fitting method is combined with the random phase screen (RPS) to simulate the <i>M</i>²-factor of a PCRPVB and a PCEVB through atmospheric turbulence. The study results indicate that the theoretical values agree well with the simulated values. Our results may find applications in free-space optical communications and remote sensing.