title: Influence of atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of quantum states of light carrying orbital angular momentum.
abstract: We analyze the influence of atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of an optical vortex beam having the form V(r,theta)=A(0)e(imtheta). The probability that a detected photon after propagating through the atmosphere has the same value of the orbital angular momentum as the launched photon is found to be given by s(0)=[1+(1.845D/r(0))(2)](-1/2), where D is the aperture diameter and r(0) is the Fried coherence diameter. These vortex beams behave very similarly to Laguerre-Gauss beams under the influence of atmospheric turbulence. These results have important implications for atmospheric laser communication systems that employ quantum encryption.
authors.affiliation: The Optical Sciences Company, Anaheim, CA 92825, USA.
authors.forename: Glenn A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Boyd