2025/10/14 by Richard J. Mathar, Mathar, Richard J.
Computer Science · Engineering · #85-10 (Primary) #Advanced Numerical Analysis Techniques #Computer Graphics and Visualization Techniques #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.12861
openalex publication_date 2025/10/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/17 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Time-dependent phase screens in ground-based astronomy are typically simulated in the so-called frozen-screen approximation by establishing a static phase screen on a large pupil and dragging an aperture equivalent to the size of the actual input pupil across this oversized phase screen. The speed of this motion sweeping through the large phase screen is equivalent to a wind speed that changes the phase screen as a function of time. The ergodic ansatz replaces this concept by constructing the structure function in a three-dimensional volume -- a sphere for reasons of computational efficiency -- , sampling phase screens by two-dimensional planar cuts through that volume, and dragging them along the surface normal at some speed which generates a video of a phase screen. This manuscript addresses the linear algebra of populating the three-dimensional volume with phase screens of the von-Karman model of atmospheric turbulence.