The fractional Brownian motion property of the turbulent refractive within Geometric Optics

Abstract

We introduce fractional Brownian motion processes (fBm) as an alternative model for the turbulent index of refraction. These processes allow to reconstruct most of the refractive index properties, but they are not differentiable. We overcome the apparent impossibility of their use within the Ray Optics approximation introducing a Stochastic Calculus. Afterwards, we successfully provide a solution for the stochastic ray-equation; moreover, its implications in the statistical analysis of experimental data is discussed. In particular, we analyze the dependence of the averaged solution against the characteristic variables of a simple propagation problem.