| Abstract: | Using the method of refractive scattering of radio waves (RSRW), we solve the problem of space correlation of scintillations
of radiation from an extended source in a randomly inhomogeneous medium. General expressions are obtained for the index and
radius of the space correlation of fluctuations of intensity of radiation from a source with finite angular dimensions as
it propagates though a multilayered medium with refractive index fluctuations. The RSRW method is similar to the diffraction
calculation of space correlation of scintillations of an extended source in a thick layer with inhomogeneities. We note that
under certain conditions an increase in the number of inhomogeneous layers on the radio wave propagation path leads to a pronounced
decrease in the scintillation index and an increase in the space correlation of fluctuations of intensity of received radiation
from an extended source. The results obtained have a simple geometric-optical interpretation. We indicate a specific feature
in determining the angular dimensions of extended radio sources using the known method of scintillations.
Radiophysical Research Institute, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika,
Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 586–593, May, 1997. |
