Accurate Zernike-corrected phase screens for arbitrary power spectra

Wave propagation through random continuous media remains an important fundamental problem with applications ranging from remote sensing to quantum communication. Typically, such media are characterized by smooth refractive index fluctuations whose impact on the wave can be captured by the stochastic parabolic equation. The latter can be solved numerically by means of a split-step method, which replaces the continuous medium with a number of discrete phase screens derived from the medium’s power spectrum. We introduce and benchmark highly accurate and efficient hybrid phase screens for arbitrary power spectra, which are based on the combination of Zernike and Fourier phase screens.