General optical scintillation in turbulent atmosphere

A general expression of the scintillation index is proposed for optical wave propagating in turbulent atmosphere under arbitrary fluctuation conditions. The expression depends on extreme behaviors of the scintillation indices under both weak and strong fluctuations. The maximum scintillation index in the onset region and the corresponding Rytov index can be evaluated from the general expression. Plane and spherical waves in the cases of zero and non-zero turbulence inner scale are given as examples for illustration of the general behaviors of scintillation indices.