Multiscale stochastic approach for phase screens synthesis

Simulating the turbulence effect on ground telescope observations is of fundamental importance for the design and test of suitable control algorithms for adaptive optics systems. In this paper we propose a multiscale approach for efficiently synthesizing turbulent phases at very high resolution. First, the turbulence is simulated at low resolution, taking advantage of a previously developed method for generating phase screens [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 25, 515 (2008)]. Then, high-resolution phase screens are obtained as the output of a multiscale linear stochastic system. The multiscale approach significantly improves the computational efficiency of turbulence simulation with respect to recently developed methods [Opt. Express 14, 988 (2006)] [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 25, 515 (2008)] [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 25, 463 (2008)]. Furthermore, the proposed procedure ensures good accuracy in reproducing the statistical characteristics of the turbulent phase. © 2011 Optical Society of America.