Estimate for the doppler shift of a non-Gaussian signal upon coherent detection of scattered optical radiation in a turbulent atmosphere

A non-Gaussian model for estimating the radial velocity of turbulent flows in the atmosphere for coherent detection of scattered optical radiation is proposed. The model was obtained based on a theoretical approach that includes results of the statistical analysis of a pulse Doppler lidar signal in a turbulent medium, as well as on the perturbation-theory methods that have been developed in the theory of probability and mathematical statistics. It is shown that the estimate of the Doppler shift in the first-order perturbation theory is a sum of a regular component and two conditional fluctuation components-Gaussian and non-Gaussian ones. In the case of a homogeneous and isotropic turbulence, the estimate of the radial wind velocity is approximately equal to its true average value. The statistical uncertainty in measurements of the average radial wind velocity is determined by the behavior of conditional Gaussian and non-Gaussian components and significantly depends on the state of atmospheric turbulence. It is shown that basic equations of the non-Gaussian model in the limit case coincide with formulas of the local and nonlocal models, as well as with those of the Gaussian model.