T. Stewart McKechnie Libros

This 2nd edition presents an updated general theory of light propagation and imaging through Earth's turbulent atmosphere, originally developed in the late '70s and '80s, with new applications in laser communications and high-energy laser beam propagation. It features a chapter with a comprehensive mathematical toolset for characterizing image formation with Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), accommodating a wide variety of star image shapes and sizes. Existing chapters have been revised to enhance clarity and provide better physical insights through both written and graphical explanations. The book traces the evolution of our understanding of light propagation and imaging, starting from basic geometrical optics to the advances of the 1960s, including the 'Kolmogorov theory,' which had significant shortcomings that led to the construction of underperforming telescopes. The general theory does not rely on prior turbulence assumptions; instead, it offers methods to calculate turbulence properties directly from measurable star image characteristics. Key topics include diffraction, wave propagation after atmospheric scattering, telescope image properties, statistical characteristics of stellar speckle patterns, and laser beam propagation, along with discussions on image stabilization and adaptive optics.