Focusing of a high-power laser beam in the course of thermal self-interaction in a moving medium

Numerical modeling is used in an analysis of the characteristics of the self-interaction of high-power laser radiation propagating in the atmosphere in the presence of fluctuations of the wind velocity. An analysis is made of the cases of fluctuations of the velocity of the medium parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the average flux. The random sampling (Monte Carlo) method is used in estimating the average intensity and the variance of the intensity fluctuations in the focal plane of a radiation source. It is shown that fluctuations of the wind velocity weaken considerably nonlinear refraction and thermal spreading of focused beams.