Propagation characteristics of vortex beams in anisotropic atmospheric turbulence

The phase distortion of vortex beams caused by atmospheric turbulence is calculated by the power spectral inversion method. An analytical expression of the fundamental mode Gaussian vortex beam that propagates through anisotropic atmospheric turbulence has been deduced. The influences of altitude, anisotropic factor, and topological charge (TC) on the propagation characteristics of vortex beams are discussed in detail. The results show that when the altitude is in the region of 3-6 km, the change of altitude has little influence on the quality of vortex beams. When the altitude is in the region of 6-7.8 km, beam quality will become better along with the increase in altitude. Otherwise, beam quality will be better with the increase in anisotropic factor, and the ability to resist distortion will be stronger with the increase in TC. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America