A comparison of the results of a numerical simulation and an approximate calculation of the statistical characteristics of radio waves in a layer with random inhomogeneities of dielectric permittivity

We consider the formation algorithm for a random inhomogeneity field of dielectric permittivity of a medium that is used in simulations of the statistical characteristics of a wave that has propagated through a randomly inhomogeneous layer. We carry out a comparison of the statistical characteristics of a geometrical-optics wave, obtained via a numerical simulation, with the results of calculations of these characteristics by approximate formulae obtained using perturbation theory. It is pointed out that the applicability limits of the perturbation method, when solving geometrical-optics equations in a randomly inhomogeneous medium, depend on the formulation (one- or two-point) of the trajectory problem. It is shown that a calculation of the spatial correlation function of the field can be carried out using the perturbation method, even in the case of relatively strong fluctuations of dielectric permittivity. This is due to the fact that, in the region where this function differs markedly from zero, the correlation function of the eikonal obtained by the perturbation method is sufficiently accurate, and amplitude fluctuations are small.