The Fried parameter is the atmospheric coherence length for optical phase. In the standard inertial-range model, the phase structure function is . For unchanged atmospheric turbulence, . The NACO manual, section 3.1 describes this scaling and its role in adaptive correction.
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The Fried parameter, often denoted as \( r_0 \), is a measure of the atmospheric turbulence that affects the propagation of electromagnetic waves, particularly in astronomy and telecommunications. It characterizes the coherence of a wavefront as it travels through turbulent media, such as the Earth's atmosphere. In more technical terms, the Fried parameter quantifies the size of the area over which a wavefront (such as light from a star) remains relatively undistorted due to turbulence.