Algorithm for calculating the refraction patterns of a planar laser beam in an optically inhomogeneous medium

An algorithm for simulation of the distribution of a planar laser beam in a three-dimensional, optically inhomogeneous medium is proposed. A technique for numerical calculation of the trajectories of the beam in a geometrically optical approximation is described. A calculation of refraction patterns in probing of a thermal boundary layer near a cylindrically shaped heated body that takes into account edge effects is performed. Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 5, pp. 36–39, May, 2008.