Influence of anisotropic turbulence on the Second-order statistics of a general-type partially coherent beam in the ocean

We investigate detailedly evolution properties of the angular spread and propagation factor ( M 2 -factor) of a general-type partially coherent beam with Schell-model correlator in anisotropic oceanic turbulence. According to the extended Huygens–Fresnel principle, analytical expressions for the second-order moments of Wigner distribution function (WDF) in anisotropic oceanic turbulence are derived. In order to measure the resistance of a general partially coherent beam to effects of anisotropic oceanic turbulence, we introduce deviation percentage of the normalized angular spread and M 2 -factor respectively between the general-type partially coherent beam and conventional Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beam. Numerical results show that influence of anisotropy on the angular spread and M 2 -factor is less for a general-type partially coherent beam than a conventional GSM beam in oceanic turbulence. Besides, the initial beam parameters have a significant effect on the angular spread and M 2 -factor of a general-type partially coherent beam. Our results may be useful for underwater communication.