Temporal coherence affected by wavefront manipulation with Zernike polynomials in adaptive optics

We experimentally demonstrate that varying reference wavefronts yield different performances in dynamic wavefront correction by adaptive optics under strong turbulence conditions. We found a corresponding theory to explain these differences by introducing a new definition of temporal coherence that takes multiple parameters into consideration including not only the strength and direction of turbulence but also the shape of the wavefront. Using numerical modeling, the theory is validated by experimental results. Based on this theory, we can optimize the reference wavefront under different turbulence conditions to improve the performance of adaptive optics and these findings can be important for further stabilizing optical propagation through a strongly turbulent atmosphere.