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Highly Transmitting Modes of Light in Dynamic Atmospheric Turbulence
David Bachmann1, Mathieu Isoard1, Vyacheslav Shatokhin1,2
1Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 3, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|March 3, 2023
Summary
Instantaneous spatial singular modes of light provide superior signal transmission through turbulent atmospheres compared to adaptive optics. These modes exhibit enhanced stability, even in strong turbulence, due to a unique power decay characteristic.
Area of Science:
- Optical physics
- Atmospheric optics
- Signal processing
Background:
- Turbulent atmospheres disrupt light signal transmission.
- Adaptive optics correct for atmospheric turbulence but have limitations.
- Standard encoding bases are susceptible to atmospheric distortions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of instantaneous spatial singular modes for signal transmission in turbulent atmospheres.
- To compare the performance of singular modes against standard encoding bases corrected by adaptive optics.
- To analyze the stability and power decay characteristics of singular modes in varying turbulence.
Main Methods:
- Simulating light propagation through dynamically evolving, turbulent atmospheric models.
- Implementing instantaneous spatial singular modes as an encoding basis.
- Utilizing adaptive optics for comparison with standard encoding methods.
- Measuring signal fidelity and transmitted power over time.
Main Results:
- Instantaneous spatial singular modes demonstrate significantly improved high-fidelity signal transmission.
- Singular modes outperform standard encoding bases corrected by adaptive optics.
- Enhanced stability of singular modes observed in stronger turbulence.
- A subdiffusive algebraic decay of transmitted power with evolution time was identified for singular modes.
Conclusions:
- Instantaneous spatial singular modes represent a promising advancement for robust optical communication in turbulent environments.
- The unique power decay mechanism contributes to the enhanced stability of singular modes.
- This approach offers a potential alternative or supplement to adaptive optics for high-fidelity signal transmission.
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