Mode Power Spectrum for Laguerre-Gauss Beams in Kolmogorov Turbulence

Opt. Lett. 47, 3447 (2022)https://ireap.umd.edu/10.1364/OL.4577092022Journal ArticlePlasma, Accelerator, and Nuclear Physics

We analyze the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the mode power spectrum of beams carrying orbital angular momentum represented by Laguerre-Gauss (LG) modes. For an input (0, m) LG mode, we calculate the power transferred to other modes (0, m') due to turbulence. The analysis is validated against split-step beam propagation simulations and shows agreement into the strong turbulence regime. These results have applications for the design and characterization of free-space laser communication systems.