Analysis of the Influence of 'Strong' Turbulence in the Propagation of Optical Radiation on the Measurements of Shack-Hartman Wavefront Sensor

As a tool for investigating the adaptive correction of turbulent distortions of optical radiation in the Shack – Hartmann wavefront sensor, wavefront reconstruction is used based on the approximation of the wave function by a set of Zernike polynomials. The accuracy of the reconstruction of the phase distribution of the light field arriving at the entrance aperture of the system is determined by the information about the light field formed in the plane of the video camera in the form of a Hartmann pattern. A number of external factors, such as the design features of the optoelectronic system, expressed by the vignetting of the lens raster, the round shape of the entrance aperture of the system, and the presence of “strong” turbulence on the optical propagation path affect the filling of the hartmanogram with focal spots and its representation in the recording plane. On the basis of numerical experiments, studies were performed evaluating the accuracy of reconstructing the phase distribution of the light field depending on the intensity of turbulent distortion of optical radiation, taking into account the identified external factors.