Abstract

Higher-order coefficients (up to eighth order) that give information concerning the contribution from the tails of non-Gaussian distributions are utilized to compare model distributions (K, log-normal, Rice–Nakagami, and a universal statistical model distribution) with the measured data of 0.6328-μm laser-irradiance fluctuations propagated through a laboratory-simulated turbulence. Expressions for the coefficients of the K distribution are derived in this paper. The comparison is made using a plot of the coefficients as a function of σ₁ = (1.23C_n²k^7/6L^11/6)^1/2, C_n² being the refractive-index structure constant. Different values of the exponent α (or p) in Γ_n ~ σ₁^α (or Γ_n ~ L^p) computed from the measured data show that the exponent parameters increase with the order of n of the coefficients Γ_n. The parameters α or p can be useful for accurate modeling of the complex process.

© 1984 Optical Society of America

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