Larry C. Andrews

This research monograph is a companion edition and update to the book: L. C. Andrews and R. L. Phillips, Laser Beam Propagation through Random Media, 2nd edition (SPIE Press, 2005). We present several new and advanced topics that have emerged during the years since the 2005 title was published. Much of the new material is compared throughout the text with experimental and computer simulation data. This comparison includes beam wander and its effect on a propagating laser beam, including beam-wander-induced scintillation. Other additions include an assessment of conventional probability density function (PDF) models for the irradiance after passing through a finite receiver aperture. New mathematical models for enhanced backscatter are introduced here, including extension to strong fluctuation regimes and semi-rough targets. In recent years, scientists have found experimental evidence that non-Kolmogorov and anisotropic conditions may occur even along horizontal propagation paths near the ground. We include a chapter on these important topics that presents a detailed treatment involving both non-Kolmogorov and anisotropic models. The book ends with a chapter devoted to the discussion of commonly used instruments for measuring atmospheric parameters like the refractive-index structure parameter, inner scale, temperature, wind speed, heat flux, and so forth.

As technology continues to move ahead, modern engineers and scientists are frequently faced with difficult mathematical problems that require an ever greater understanding of advanced concepts. This mathematics book is designed as a self-study text for practicing engineers and scientists, and as a useful reference source to complement more comprehensive publications. It takes the reader frorh ordinary differential equations to more sophisticated mathematics--Fourier analysis, vector and tensor analysis, complex variables, partial differential equations, and random processes. The emphasis is on the use of mathematical tools and techniques. The general exposition and choice of topics appeals to a wide audience of applied practitioners.

Discusses optical scintillation and its impact on system performance in free-space optical communication and laser radar applications, with a detailed look at propagation phenomena and the role of scintillation on system behaviour. The book is intended for practicing engineers, scientists, and students.

Integral transform methods provide effective ways to solve a variety of problems arising in the engineering, optical and physical sciences. This concise, easy-to-follow reference text introduces the use of integral transforms, with a detailed discussion of the widely applicable Laplace and Fourier transforms. It is suitable as a self-study for practising engineers and applied mathematics, as well as a textbook for students in graduate-level courses in optics, engineering sciences, physics and mathematics. In most sections, applications relevant to engineers and applied scientists are used in place of formal proofs. Numerous examples, exercise sets, illustrations and tables enhance the book's usefulness as a teaching tool and reference.

Special functions are essential for solving problems in virtually all engineering disciplines. Assuming only knowledge of elementary calculus and differential equations, this concise, clearly written reference illustrates the properties and applications of the special functions most frequently needed by practising engineers. Copious illustrations of worked out sample problems from a wide range of real-world engineering applications distinguish this work from others.