Tau method approximation for radiative transfer problems in a slab medium

An approximate method for solving the radiative transfer equation in a slab medium with an isotropic scattering is proposed. The method is based upon constructing the double Legendre series to approximate the required solution using Legendre tau method. The differential and integral expressions which arise in the radiative transfer equation are converted into a system of linear algebraic equations which can be solved for the unknown coefficients. Numerical examples are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the method and a comparison is made with existing results.     

On the use of a meshless method for solving radiative transfer with the discrete ordinates formulations

A meshless method is presented for solving the radiative transfer equation in the discrete ordinates approach. It is shown that the primitive variables formulation is unstable for low values of the absorption coefficient while the even parity formulation is always stable and accurate.     

Discontinuous spectral element method for solving radiative heat transfer in multidimensional semitransparent media

A discontinuous spectral element method (DSEM) is presented to solve radiative heat transfer in multidimensional semitransparent media. This method is based on the general discontinuous Galerkin formulation. Chebyshev polynomial is used to build basis function on each element and both structured and unstructured elements are considered. The DSEM has properties such as hp-convergence, local conservation and its solutions are allowed to be discontinuous across interelement boundaries. The influences of different schemes for treatment of the interelement numerical flux on the performance of the DSEM are compared. The p-convergence characteristics of the DSEM are studied. Four various test problems are taken as examples to verify the performance of the DSEM, especially the performance to solve the problems with discontinuity in the angular distribution of radiative intensity. The predicted results by the DSEM agree well with the benchmark solutions. Numerical results show that the p-convergence rate of the DSEM follows exponential law, and the DSEM is stable, accurate and effective to solve multidimensional radiative transfer in semitransparent media.     

Variational iteration method for solving integro-differential equations

In this Letter, the variational iteration method is applied to solve integro-differential equations. Some examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the method, the results show that the method provides a straightforward and powerful mathematical tool for solving various integro-differential equations.     

A simplified implementation of the discrete-ordinates method for a class of problems in radiative transfer with polarization

A simplified implementation of the analytical discrete ordinates (ADO) method in radiative transfer with polarization is presented in this work. The class of problems that can be solved with the simplified ADO approach consists of problems defined in plane-parallel geometry and driven by external illumination in the form of obliquely incident parallel rays. Numerical results of benchmark quality are tabulated for the albedo problem with polarization and Lambert reflection. The new results improve on a tabulation made available in a previous work by the authors that was based on the (less accurate) spherical harmonics method.     

A new 1D approximation for the solution of 2D radiative transfer problems

The simplified M-1D algorithm (M stands for modified) for the calculation of horizontal distribution of reflected brightness coefficient in 2D regions with large homogeneous pixels is presented. This algorithm is based upon modified 3^?N−1 1D-transport equations (where N is the number of large pixels) instead of one 2D-transport equation, usually used in such problems. The method does not rely on empiric assumptions on both optical properties of atmosphere or diffuse radiation intensity. Numerical results demonstrating the accuracy of the presented algorithm for simulating brightening and shadowing effects in a vicinity of the jump of optical properties given. The accuracy of the M-1D approximation strongly depends on the geometry and illumination conditions. However, it remains below 15% and can reach 1% for all cases studied and is strongly higher than the accuracy of usually employed independent pixel approximation. Time reduction via replacing 2D problem via modified 1D problem is about 17 times for all cases considered in this paper.     

Layer-edge conditions for multislab atmospheric radiative transfer problems

We derive nonstandard layer-edge conditions for efficient solution of multislab atmospheric radiative transfer problems. We begin by defining a local radiative transfer problem on the lowermost layer of a multislab model atmosphere and we consider a standard discrete ordinates version of this local problem. We then make use of a recently developed computational method in order to derive layer-edge conditions involving incident, reflected and transmitted radiation. These layer-edge conditions for the lowermost layer are given in terms of inherent optical properties of the layer, the solar zenith angle and the quadrature set used in the discrete ordinates approach. They can be used to increase the efficiency of our computational method in solving practical problems in atmospheric radiative transfer. Moreover, they are amenable to incorporation into other discrete ordinates methods. To illustrate, we report numerical results for two atmospheric model problems.     

ARTS, the atmospheric radiative transfer simulator

ARTS is a modular program that simulates atmospheric radiative transfer. The paper describes ARTS version 1.0, which is applicable in the absence of scattering. An overview over all major parts of the model is given: calculation of absorption coefficients, the radiative transfer itself, and the calculation of Jacobians. ARTS can be freely used under a GNU general public license.Unique features of the program are its scalability and modularity, the ability to work with different sources of spectroscopic parameters, the availability of several self-consistent water continuum and line absorption models, and the analytical calculation of Jacobians.     

Fast multilevel radiative transfer

The vast majority of recent advances in the field of numerical radiative transfer relies on approximate operator methods better known in astrophysics as Accelerated Lambda-Iteration (ALI). A superior class of iterative schemes, in term of rates of convergence, such as Gauss-Seidel and successive overrelaxation methods were therefore quite naturally introduced in the field of radiative transfer by Trujillo Bueno and Fabiani Bendicho [A novel iterative scheme for the very fast and accurate solution of non-LTE radiative transfer problems. Astrophys J 1995;455:646]; it was thoroughly described for the non-LTE two-level atom case. We describe hereafter in details how such methods can be generalized when dealing with non-LTE unpolarised radiation transfer with multilevel atomic models, in monodimensional geometry.     

Many polarized radiative transfer models

This note is an introduction to the reprint of the 1991 JQSRT article “A new polarized atmospheric radiative transfer model” by K.F. Evans and G.L. Stephens. We discuss the significance of the article, how our two plane-parallel polarized radiative transfer codes came about, how our codes have been used, and more recent developments in polarized radiative transfer modeling.     

Three-dimensional radiative transfer modeling using the control volume finite element method

In the present study, a three-dimensional algorithm for the treatment of radiative heat transfer in emitting, absorbing and scattering media is developed. The approach is based on the utilization of control volume finite element method (CVFEM) which, to the knowledge of the authors, is applied at the first time to 3D radiative heat transfer in participating media. The accuracy of the present algorithm is tested by comparing its predictions to other published works. Comparisons show that CVFEM produces good results. Moreover, this approach permits compatibility with other numerical methods used for computational fluids mechanics problems.     

Regularization of inverse boundary design radiative heat transfer problems

Inverse boundary design heat transfer problems, including only radiation, are considered. Variational methods of regularization are used for solving these (mathematically ill-posed) problems, they give possibility to take into account various a priori information about the desired solution. For minimizing the discrepancy functional we use the adjoint problem method; however, we use it not only in iterative regularization, but in Tikhonov and parametric ones as well. We use all the available a priori information about desired solutions in all the techniques; this allows to obtain physically feasible solutions in all the cases.     

Variational methods in radiative transfer problems

An efficient variational-iterative method is applied to the problem of diffuse reflection by a plane-parallel inhomogeneous atmosphere with isotropic scattering. The emergent intensity I(τ = 0; μ, μ₀) with μ = μ₀ corresponds to the maximum of an associated functional. It is, however, shown that I(τ = 0; μ, μ₀) computed by the variational method alone has relatively large errors when μ ≠ μ₀. Such deficiencies are removed by a combined variational-iterative method. The interdependence of the iterative and variational methods is also investigated. They are shown to play a complementary role to each other. The proper choice of trial functions is emphasized in light of computational efficiency and flexibility. Two distinct classes of trial functions: the polynomials, and the step functions are investigated as possible choices of trial functions. The latter choice is shown to be far more efficient in computation. Numerical results for both approximate emergent intensities and source functions are presented and found to be in good agreement with the exact solutions. Simple analytic two-step function approximations of the source function and intensities are also presented for the case of a two-layer inhomogeneous model.     

Variational iteration method for solving biharmonic equations

By means of the variational iteration method the numerical solution of biharmonic equations are obtained. Biharmonic equation has significant applications in physics and engineering. There is a difficulty to solve the biharmonic equation due to the existence of fourth order derivatives. For this reason, we use the variational iteration method to solve this equation. Test problems, are used to validate this algorithm which is found to be more accurate and efficient than previous ones.     

Computation of Green's function for radiative transfer

In an accompanying paper, we develop the computational expressions for the higher order perturbation of the radiative transfer equation, and present some numerical results for typical cases. In this article, we discuss a number of issues regarding the implementation of the HOP computation: obtaining the Green's function, its expansion as a double series of Legendre polynomials, and obtaining the adjoint radiance of more general sources such as those for the fluxes at arbitrary altitudes. Examples of Green's function and its expansion coefficients are presented.     

The DRESOR method for radiative heat transfer in a one-dimensional medium with variable refractive index

This paper extends the DRESOR (Distribution of Ratios of Energy Scattered by the medium Or Reflected by the boundary surface) method to radiative transfer in a variable refractive index medium. In this method, the intensity is obtained from the source term along the curved integration paths determined only by the variable refractive index, and the DRESOR values are calculated by the Monte Carlo method in which the propagation of the energy bundles are affected by Snell's law. With given temperatures on the black boundaries of a one-dimensional medium, the temperature distribution inside the medium with a variable scattering property is calculated under the condition of radiative equilibrium. It is shown that the DRESOR method has a good accuracy in the cases studied. For an isotropic-scattering medium with the same optical thickness, the scattering albedo has no effect on the temperature distribution, which can be obtained from the general equations and can be seen as an extension of what exists for a constant refractive index; however, the different refractive index causes obvious changes in the temperatures inside the medium. The effect of anisotropic scattering on the temperature distribution cannot be ignored, although it is still weaker than the effect caused by variation in the refractive index.     

Robust and accurate filtered spherical harmonics expansions for radiative transfer

We present a novel application of filters to the spherical harmonics (P_N) expansion for radiative transfer problems in the high-energy-density regime. The filter we use is based on non-oscillatory spherical splines and a filter strength chosen to (i) preserve the equilibrium diffusion limit and (ii) vanish as the expansion order tends to infinity. Our implementation is based on modified equations that are derived by applying the filter after every time step in a simple first-order time integration scheme. The method is readily applied to existing codes that solve the P_N equations. Numerical results demonstrate that the solution to the filtered P_N equations are (i) more robust and less oscillatory than standard P_N solutions and (ii) more accurate than discrete ordinates solutions of comparable order. In particular, the filtered P₇ solution demonstrates comparable accuracy to an implicit Monte Carlo solution for a benchmark hohlraum problem in 2D Cartesian geometry.     

Vector Green's function algorithm for radiative transfer in plane-parallel atmosphere

Green's function is a widely used approach for boundary value problems. In problems related to radiative transfer, Green's function has been found to be useful in land, ocean and atmosphere remote sensing. It is also a key element in higher order perturbation theory. This paper presents an explicit expression of the Green's function, in terms of the source and radiation field variables, for a plane-parallel atmosphere with either vacuum boundaries or a reflecting (BRDF) surface. Full polarization state is considered but the algorithm has been developed in such way that it can be easily reduced to solve scalar radiative transfer problems, which makes it possible to implement a single set of code for computing both the scalar and the vector Green's function.     

Extension of the discrete-ordinate algorithm and efficient radiative transfer calculation

As an accurate and efficient algorithm, the discrete-ordinate method (DOM) has been used to solve the radiative transfer problem of plane-parallel scattering atmosphere illuminated by a parallel beam, an idealized case of the sun, from above the atmosphere. In this paper, we extend this algorithm so that radiative problems of more general sources, such as parallel surface sources that illuminate with a parallel beam in any direction from any vertical position, and general surface sources that illuminate continuously in a hemisphere, can be solved. For a problem where intensity distributions are sought for a number of different sources within the same atmosphere-surface system, the intrinsic properties of DOM are used so that the time required for the solution for extra sources is reduced to a substantially small amount. In the case of parallel surface sources, numerical testing has shown that the amount can be reduced to as little as 15% of a full solution. Examples of applications are presented.     

Stability of explicit radiation-material coupling in radiative transfer calculations

We show that explicit radiation-material coupling, which is essentially always stable for infrared radiative transfer is conditionally stable in the high energy density regime. A linearized stability analysis is first performed for a simple infinite-medium problem that yields both a criterion for unconditional stability, a time-step restriction that applies for conditional stability, and a time-step criterion that always applies for non-oscillatory solutions. This analysis is then extended to include space dependence with the result that the system is always conditionally stable, but with a time step restriction somewhat different from the infinite-medium case. Nonetheless, the time step restriction for non-oscillatory solutions remains the same. Computations are presented that confirm the predictions of our analysis, and conclusions are given.