Propagation factor and beam wander of electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model array beams in non-Kolmogorov turbulence

The propagation formulae for the propagation factor (known as M-2-factor) and beam wander of electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model (EGSM) array beams in non-Kolmogorov turbulence are derived by using the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle and the second-order moments of the Wigner distribution function. The results indicate that the M-2-factor and beam wander depend on the beam parameters and turbulence parameters, and the relative M-2-factor has a maximum when the generalized exponent parameter a is equal to 3.1. Otherwise, the changes of the separation distances (x(0), y(0)) have great influence on the relative M-2-factor. The relative beam wander increases rapidly when 3<alpha<3.2; however, it increases slowly when 3.2<alpha<4. It is also shown that the beam spreading of EGSM array beams is more affected by turbulence than the root mean square beam wander. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement