Abstract
Optical beams radiated by a recently introduced class of Rectangular Multi-Gaussian Schell-Model (RMGSM) source are examined on propagation in free space and in atmospheric turbulence, with both classic and non-classic power spectra of the refractive-index fluctuations. The expression for the cross-spectral density function of such beams has been derived and used for the analysis of their spectral density (average intensity). The RMGSM beams are shown to preserve the square/rectangular shape of the transverse intensity distribution and the maximum intensity level in the flat part for relatively large distances from the source on propagation in classic turbulence. This makes the novel beams attractive for free-space optical communications and surface processing in the presence of the atmosphere.
