Wavefront curvature autocovariance: its theoretical properties and potential use for C2n profiling

Remy Avila

doi:10.1117/12.2631236

29 August 2022 Wavefront curvature autocovariance: its theoretical properties and potential use for C²_n profiling

Remy Avila

Proceedings Volume 12185, Adaptive Optics Systems VIII; 121851N (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2631236
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

Remote measurements of optical turbulence profiles are nowadays performed by statistical analysis of either scintillation or the wavefront slope. Here I propose to detect the wavefront curvature and compute its spatio-angular covariance by a triangulation technique to determine optical turbulence profiles. This potential new method called Curvature Detection and Ranging (CURDAR) is theoretically studied in this letter. The width of the curvature autocovariance function is approximately ten and one thousand times smaller than that of the scintillation and the wavefront slope, respectively. Thus, a significant enhancement of the attainable altitude resolution of turbulence profiles is expected from the spatio-angular autocovariance of the curvature. The curvature autocovariance amplitude is proportional to C_n² (h) and also depends on the turbulence altitude h and on the turbulence inner scale l₀. A simple procedure disentangles those dependencies and leads to C_n² (h) and also to the inner scale profile l₀(h).

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Remy Avila "Wavefront curvature autocovariance: its theoretical properties and potential use for C²_n profiling", Proc. SPIE 12185, Adaptive Optics Systems VIII, 121851N (29 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2631236

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