Review of atmospheric effects on high energy beam propagation

This paper has the objective to provide a general overview of the many phenomena which can influence the propagation of a high energy laser (HEL) beam through the atmosphere. Phenomena involving linear characteristics are related to beam spreading due to diffraction, to absorption and scattering by gases and aerosols, and to beam spreading, wander, and scintillation due to turbulence. The nonlinear phenomena which are most important for HEL beam propagation in the atmosphere include thermal blooming, dirty/aerosol contaminated air breakdown, and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). Some of the important issues and specific characteristics related to the problem of HEL beam propagation from ground-to-space are also considered.