Effect of turbulence and random scattering on complex optical beam interference

The presence of turbulence in a medium produces inhomogeneity, introducing perturbation in the amplitude and phase of waves propagating through the medium. The coherence of optical waves is reduced by the incoherent scattering from the inhomogeneity and randomness produced by the turbulence. Recently, interference of the Laguerre-Gauss beam has been used to create optical knots. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the effect of turbulence and structure of the beam on the interference to understand the stability of optical knots in the presence of perturbation and random turbulent fluctuations in the medium. As a first step, we investigate the effect of scattering and turbulence on Young's double-slit interference. Second, we use the Kolmogorov model for turbulence to quantify the changes in the amplitude and phase characteristics of a Laguerre-Gauss (LG) beam carrying orbital angular momentum. Finally, we apply the results of these studies to investigate the stability of optical knots in scattering and turbulent media.