Optical turbulence forecast for ground-based astronomy and free-space optical communication

Abstract

Forecasting optical turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere has been an ambitious challenge for the astronomical scientific community for several decades. While earlier research primarily focused on whether it was possible to predict optical turbulence and its vertical distribution, current efforts are more concentrated on the accuracy achievable at different timescales, the efficiency of various forecasting methods and the contributions of new statistical approaches, such as auto-regression and machine learning to this field. In this contribution, I will present the state of the art of the research conducted by our group, positioned within the international research scenery. Most of our past activity has been primarily focused on ground-based astronomy but recent advancements in space research opened new opportunities for applications in the free-space optical communication.