Scintillation index of astigmatic annular beams in a turbulent atmosphere

The scintillation properties of astigmatic annular beams in a weak turbulent atmosphere are investigated. Expression for the on-axis scintillation index of an astigmatic annular beam is derived. It is found that the scintillation index of an astigmatic annular beam can be smaller than that of a Gaussian beam, an elliptical Gaussian beam and a stigmatic annular beam in a weak turbulent atmosphere under certain conditions. The scintillation properties of astigmatic annular beams are closely controlled by its beam parameters.