Based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle, a two-frequency, two-point cross-spectral density function of partially coherent Gaussian-Schell model pulse （GSMP） beam propagation in slant atmospheric turbulence is derived. Using the Markov approximation method and on the assumption that （w1 - w2）/（w1 ＋ w2） ≤ 1, the theory obtained is valid for turbulence of any strength and can be applied to narrow-band signals. The expressions for average beam intensity, the beam size, and the two-frequency complex degree of coherence of a GSMP beam are obtained. The numerical results are presented, and the effects of the frequency, initial pulse width, initial beam radius, zenith angle, and outer scales on the complex degree of coherence are discussed. This study provides a better understanding of the second-order statistics of a GSMP beam propagating through atmospheric turbulence in the space-frequency domain.
The extended Huygens-Fresnel principle and Goodman model was utilized for target surface to derive the mutual coherence function(MCF) of a Gaussian beam reflected from an arbitrary rough target in atmospheric turbulence. According to the MCF, expressions of the mean irradiance and average speckle size at the receiver were obtained. The analysis indicated that the mean intensity is closely related to the ratio of root mean square(rms) height to the lateral correlation length. In addition, the speckle size at the receiver is associated with turbulence strength, propagation distance and roughness of the target. The results can be reduced to the result of a Gaussian beam illuminating rough target and scattering from a target in free space.
The second-order and fourth-order statistical moments of the speckle field from a diffuse target in atmospheric turbulence are studied which have great influence on the performance of lidar systems. By expanding a general rotationally symmetric beam as a sum of Gaussian-Schell model （GSM） beams, the mean intensity of the general beam propagating over a distance in an atmospheric turbulence is formulated. Expressions for the degree of coherence （DOC） and the normalized intensity variance of the scattered field of a general beam from a rough surface in turbulence are derived based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle. The general expressions reduce to the well-known forms for a GSM beam. Another example for the general beam used in this paper is the collimated flat-topped beam. The results of both kinds of beams show that the intensity profile on the target plane is a key factor affecting the statistical characteristics of the speckle field. A larger beam spot on the target plane induces a smaller coherence length and a smaller normalized intensity variance of the received field. As turbulence gets stronger, the coherence length becomes smaller, and the normalized intensity variance firstly increases and declines to unity finally.
