Analysis of asymptotic theory of differential phase millimeter-wave scintillations in the oxygen absorption region

This paper presents a model for dual frequency differential phase scintillations for a plane wave propagating through a turbulent medium characterized by a complex refractive index. In contrast to the predicted enhancement of the low-frequency portion of the amplitude spectrum by absorption fluctuations, our theoretical model predicts that the absorption mechanism has virtually no significant effect on the absolute phase spectrum, but can enhance the differential phase spectrum at intermediate frequencies when the propagation frequencies are very close. The effect of turbulence scale size is also analyzed. Experimental differential phase spectra agree well with the theoretical models presented here.