Propagation of a stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam in the oceanic turbulence

•We studied the stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam through oceanic turbulence.•We obtained formulas for its elements of the cross-spectral density matrix on propagation.•We studied the changes of its statistical properties on propagation.

By using the extended Huygens–Fresnel principle, we investigate the stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam propagating through oceanic turbulence. General formulas for the elements of the 2×2 cross-spectral density matrix of a stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam propagating through the oceanic turbulence are obtained. We study the changes in the spectral density, the spectral degree of coherence and the spectral degree of polarization of such a vortex beam with the help of the general formulas. It is shown by numerical calculations that, the beam profile will approach a Gaussian distribution in far field under the influence of oceanic turbulence. It is also interesting to find that the spectral degree of polarization of a stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam composed by isotropic sources on propagation in far zone will return to its value in the source plane.