Splitting and combining properties of an elegant Hermite-Gaussian correlated Schell-model beam in Kolmogorov and non-Kolmogorov turbulence

Elegant Hermite-Gaussian correlated Schell-model (EHGCSM) beam was introduced in theory and generated in experiment just recently [Phys. Rev. A 91, 013823 (2015)]. In this paper, we study the propagation properties of an EHGCSM beam in turbulent atmosphere with the help of the extended Huygens-Fresnel integral. Analytical expressions for the cross-spectral density and the propagation factors of an EHGCSM beam propagating in turbulent atmosphere are derived. The statistical properties, such as the spectral intensity, the spectral degree of coherence and the propagation factors, of an EHGCSM beam in Kolmogorov and nonKolmogorov turbulence are illustrated numerically. It is found that an EHGCSM beam exhibits splitting and combing properties in turbulent atmosphere, and an EHGCSM beam with large mode orders is less affected by turbulence than an EHGCSM beam with small mode orders or a Gaussian Schell-model beam or a Gaussian beam, which will be useful in free-space optical communications. (C)2015 Optical Society of America