Random optical beam propagation in anisotropic turbulence along horizontal links

Considerable amount of data has been collected in the past asserting that atmospheric turbulence has regions where it exhibits anisotropic statistics. For instance, it is known that the fluctuations in the refractive index within the first meter above the ground are typically stronger in the vertical direction compared with those in the horizontal directions. We have investigated the second-order statistical properties of a Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beam traversing anisotropic atmospheric turbulence along a horizontal path. Analytical expression is rigorously derived for the cross-spectral density function of a GSM beam. It is shown that the spread of the beam and its coherence properties become different in two transverse directions due to anisotropy. In the limiting case when the source coherence width becomes infinite our results reduce to those for Gaussian beam propagation. Source partial coherence is shown to mitigate anisotropy at sub-kilometer distances. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America