Coherent optical transmission through atmospheric turbulence

Wireless optical transmission offers many advantages over traditional radio- and microwave-frequency technologies, including higher available bandwidth and increased directionality. This makes wireless optical transmission interesting to both commercial and scientific applications, particularly those involving transmission between ground and spacecraft. However, wireless optical transmission is severely degraded by challenges associated with atmospheric turbulence. In this work, I make substantial progress towards understanding these challenges and develop state-of-the-art systems capable of measuring and actively suppressing the effects of atmospheric turbulence, thereby enabling stable and robust coherent optical transmission for Doppler orbitography of satellites, high-bandwidth satellite communications, and precision tests of fundamental physics.