Intensity fluctuations in a limited optical beam

An experimental study was made of the dispersion and correlation functions for intensity fluctuations of laser radiation at distances of 0.5, 2.4, and 7.0 km. The averaging due to the receiver aperture is less important than predicted by theory. The correlation time for the intensity fluctuations in the strong-fluctuation range is a weak function of the path length. At receiver-aperture sizes much greater than the size of the laser beam, large intensity fluctuations are observed, and the probability distribution for the intensity fluctuations is approximately normal.Translated from Izvestiya VUZ. Fizika, No. 2, pp. 52–56, February, 1970.