Statistical Properties of Estimates of the Moments of Laser Scintillation

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Abstract
The random fluctuations of laser scintillation are described by the probability density function (PDF) of irradiance. Many models for a general PDF have been proposed, and a common method of analysis has been the comparison of the moments of the PDF with experimental data. The statistical behaviour of these estimates for the moments is determined by simulation of actual experimental procedures assuming various models for the true PDF. Realizations for histograms (estimates of the PDF) of digitized data are generated using binomial random deviates. Each realization for the histogram generates a realization for the moments. The PDF of these estimates for the moments is approximated by producing a histogram of a large number of such realizations. These results are compared with recent theoretical predictions. Higher moments are shown to be a poor description of the random process for typical experimental conditions. The effects of amplifier saturation are also investigated with the same simulations. Saturation becomes important when the median of the maximum irradiance becomes larger than the saturation level.