Effective Rayleigh range of Gaussian array beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence

The analytical expressions for the effective Rayleigh range z_R of Gaussian array beams in turbulence for both coherent and incoherent combinations are derived. It is shown that z_R of Gaussian array beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence depends on the strength of turbulence, the array beam parameters and the type of beam combination. For the coherent combination z_R decreases due to turbulence. However, for the incoherent combination there exists a maximum of z_R as the strength of turbulence varies. The z_R of coherently combined Gaussian array beams is larger than that of incoherently combined Gaussian array beams, but for the coherent combination case z_R is more sensitive to turbulence than that for the incoherent combination case. The larger the beam number is, the longer z_R is, and the more z_R is affected by turbulence. For the coherent combination z_R is not monotonic versus the relative beam separation distance, and the effect of turbulence on z_R is appreciable within a certain range of the relative beam separation distance.