Propagation of higher-order intensity moments through an optical system in atmospheric turbulence

The method to derive higher-order intensity moments of partially coherent beams propagating through an optical system in turbulence is proposed, and the simple expressions for intensity moments up to the fourth-order are derived. The results obtained in this paper are general, which can reduce readily to some interesting results as special cases. Taking the flat-topped beam as an example, higher-order intensity moments are studied in detail to illustrate the application of our general results.