Thermal distortions of focused laser beams in the atmosphere

A systematic theoretical investigation of thermal self-action of focused cw laser beams has been carried out. A modification of the splitting method, having high accuracy and operation rate, has been developed for a numerical solution of the nonstationary 4-D self-consistent problem. The following are considered: optimization of the focusing parameters at thermal self-action in moving media; blooming of cylindrically focused beams; influence of wind velocity fluctuations on thermal distortions; programmed scanning with the beam along a given path; and adaptive phase-conjugate correction of nonstationary thermal defocusing of the beam. In conclusion, the results are discussed.