Abstract

The experimental study of optical turbulence proves difficult due to challenges in generating controllable conditions in a laboratory environment. Confined water tanks that produce Rayleigh–Bénard (RB) convection are one method to generate optical turbulence using a controllable temperature gradient. It is of utmost concern to quantify the properties of the optical turbulence generated for characterization of other optical applications such as imaging, sensing, or communications. In this experimental study a Gaussian beam is propagated through a RB water tank where two intensity measurements are made at the receiver’s pupil and focal plane. The pupil and focal plane results include quantification of the intensity fluctuation distribution, scintillation distribution, and refractive index structure constant at various values of the temperature gradient. The angle of arrival fluctuations is also calculated at the focal plane to obtain a second estimate of $C_n^2$. The pupil plane estimate for $C_n^2$ using scintillation index and focal plane angle of arrival fluctuations is compared to preliminary predictions of $C_n^2$ as a function of RB temperature gradient showing $C_n^2 \sim \Delta {T^{4/3}}$. The outcomes of the study confirm that the RB process produces intensity fluctuations that follow gamma–gamma and log-normal probability density functions. Estimates of the refractive index structure constant $C_n^2$ produce the same trends with different magnitudes when measured from the pupil and focal plane.

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