Generalized form of the direct and adjoint radiative transfer equations

The main goal of this paper is to give a rigorous derivation of the generalized form of the direct (also referenced as forward) and adjoint radiative transfer equations. The obtained expressions coincide with expressions derived by Ustinov [Adjoint sensitivity analysis of radiative transfer equation: temperature and gas mixing ratio weighting functions for remote sensing of scattering atmospheres in thermal IR. JQSRT 2001;68:195-211]. However, in contrast to [Ustinov EA. Adjoint sensitivity analysis of radiative transfer equation: temperature and gas mixing ratio weighting functions for remote sensing of scattering atmospheres in thermal IR. JQSRT 2001;68:195-211] we formulate the generalized form of the direct radiative transfer operator fully independent from its adjoint. To illustrate the application of the derived adjoint radiative transfer operator we consider the angular interpolation problem in the framework of the discrete ordinate method widely used to solve the radiative transfer equation. It is shown that under certain conditions the usage of the solution of the adjoint radiative transfer equation for the angular interpolation of the intensity can be computationally more efficient than the commonly used source function integration technique.     

Numerical solutions of matrix Riccati equations for radiative transfer in a plane-parallel geometry

Abstract

In this paper, we conduct numerical experiments with matrix Riccati equations (MREs) which describe the reflection (R) and transmission (T) matrices of the specific intensities in a layer containing randomly distributed scattering particles. The theoretical formulation of MREs is discussed in our previous paper where we show that R and T for a thick layer can be efficiently computed by successively doubling R and T matrices for a thin layer (with small optical thickness τ_Δ). We can compute R(τ_Δ) and T(τ_Δ) very accurately using either a fourth-order Runge–Kutta scheme or the fourth-order iterative solution. The differences between these results and those computed by the eigenmode expansion technique (EMET) are very small (<0.1%). Although the MRE formulation cannot be extended to handle the inhomogeneous term (source term) in the differential equation, we show that the force term can be reformulated as an equivalent boundary condition which is consistent with MRE methods. MRE methods offer an alternative way of solving plane-parallel radiative transport problems. For large problems that do not fit into computer memory, the MRE method provides a significant reduction in computer memory and computational time.     

Bounded speed of propagation for solutions to radiative transfer equations

The Radiative Transfer Equation is the nonlinear transport equation

On the nonuniqueness of solutions for nonlinear integral equations in radiative transfer theory

The nonuniqueness problem is considered for the nonlinear integral equations satisfied by the reflection and transmission matrices of homogeneous plane-parallel atmospheres. The analysis of the problems for semi-infinite and finite atmospheres is based on a recently developed biorthogonolity concept. Explicit expressions for nonphysical solutions are derived. The structure of these solutions reveal that iterative solution procedures may easily yield nonphysical results, if no proper attention is paid to certain linear constraints.     

Approximate radiative solutions of the Einstein equations

In this paper the external field of a bounded source emitting gravitational radiation has been considered. A successive approximation method has been used to integrate the Einstein equations in Bondi's coordinates. A method of separation of angular variables has been worked out and the approximate Einstein equations have been reduced to the key equations (3.8)–(3.10). The losses of mass, momentum, and angular momentum due to gravitational multipole radiation have been found. It has been demonstrated that in the case of proper treatment a real mass occurs instead of a mass aspect in a solution of the Einstein equations. In Appendix C Bondi's news function has been given in terms of sources.     

Approximate radiative solutions of the Yang-Mills field equations

In this paper we look for the asymptotic radiative solutions of the Yang-Mills field equations. Considering the potential of the Yang-Mills field as a connection in a principal fibre bundle gives us a fully covariant formalism similar to the formalism of the General Relativity. Then we apply directly the results obtained by Mme Choquet-Bruhat for the gravitational field by means of the W.K.B. method. After deriving the equations for the asymptotic waves and interpreting the zero-order conditions as the initial conditions, we consider some known trivial solutions of the Yang-Mills field equations as the background field and construct the asymptotic waves explicitly. All the solutions considered turn out to be of the electromagnetic type, with some extra restrictions of the algebraic type.     

On the singular components of the solution to the searchlight problem in radiative transfer

Explicit expressions for the singular components of the solution to the searchlight problem are reported.     

Approximate solutions of radiative transfer in one-dimensional non-planar systems

An approximate method is developed for the study of radiative transfer in one-dimensional, non-planar systems. While this method can be regarded as an extension of some existing approximation techniques formulated for the one-dimensional planar problem, it does yield closed-form expressions for the radiant heat flux and the temperature profile for various non-planar problems, which have not been established before. Comparisons with the available numerical results show that the heat-flux expressions are accurate throughout the entire range of the optical thickness. Results for the temperature profile. however, have the same limitation as the various closed-form approximate solutions for the planar problem. They are not very accurate at regions near the boundary, except in the optically thick limit. Based on the closed-form expressions obtained for the non-planar radiative transfer problem, the present work establishes readily the effect of the various parameters, such as the optical thickness, the surface emissivity, the radius ratio and the heat-generation rate on the heat-transfer and the temperature profile. Differences between radiative heat-transfer characteristics of the two basic non-planar systems (concentric cylinders and concentric spheres) are discussed.     

Note on solutions to a class of nonlinear singular integro-differential equations

Certain classes of nonlinear singular integro-differential equations are considered. These equations are mapped, via explicit transformations, to either ordinary differential equations or to linearizable partial differential equations.     

Transient radiative transfer in the grey case: Well-balanced and asymptotic-preserving schemes built on Case's elementary solutions

An original well-balanced (WB) Godunov scheme relying on an exact Riemann solver involving a non-conservative (NC) product is developed. It is meant to solve accurately the time-dependent one-dimensional radiative transfer equation in the discrete ordinates approximation with an arbitrary even number of velocities. The collision term is thus concentrated onto a discrete lattice by means of Dirac masses; this induces steady contact discontinuities which are integral curves of the stationary problem. One solves it by taking advantage of the method of elementary solutions mainly developed by Case, Zweifel and Cercignani. This approach produces a rather simple scheme that compares advantageously to standard existing upwind schemes, especially for the decay in time toward a Maxwellian distribution. It is possible to reformulate this scheme in order to handle properly the parabolic scaling in order to generate a so-called asymptotic-preserving (AP) discretization. Consistency with the diffusive approximation holds independently of the computational grid. Several numerical results are displayed to show the realizability and the efficiency of the method.     

A comparison of differential and integral equations of radiative transfer

The equations of radiative transfer and of statistical equilibrium of a two-level atom are solved by means of differential and integral equations for a one-dimensional medium. The numerical solutions are compared to the analytic solution. It is found that the integral equation for piecewise quadratic source functions gives more accurate results than does the differential equation.     

Inverse Monte Carlo solutions for radiative transfer in inhomogeneous media

The inverse Monte Carlo method is used to construct solutions for three radiative transfer inverse problems in which the single scatter albedo, ω, varies within the medium and the scattering is isotropic. The first problem concerns a half space whose single scatter albedo varies exponentially according to ω = ω₀e^?τ/s, where τ is the optical depth, s is known and we seek ω₀; the second problem concerns a two-region slab for which we seek ω for each region. The procedure is also used to construct an approximate solution for a finite, plane-parallel medium whose single scatter albedo varies exponentially by considering the medium to be composed of five regions, each with constant single scatter albedo.     

Multi-coupled single scattering method of solving vector radiative transfer equations

<正>A new method of multi-coupled single scattering(MCSS) for solving a vector radiative transfer equation is developed and made public on Internet.Recent solutions from Chandrasekhar’s X-Y method is used to validate the MCSS’s result,which shows high precision.The MCSS method is theoretically simple and clear,so it can be easily and credibly extended to the simulation of aerosol/cloud atmosphere’s radiative properties,which provides effective support for research into polarized remote sensing.     

Comparison of the radiative transfer equations for constant and spatially varying refraction

The radiative transfer equation for scattering media with constant refraction index (RTE) and the radiative transfer equation for scattering media with spatially varying refraction index (RTEvri) are compared by using the principle of conservation of energy. It is shown that the RTEvri, not only accounts for the spatial variations of refraction index, but also contains a term that accounts for the divergence of the rays. The latter term is missing in the RTE. A corrected RTE is proposed.     

Minimum entropy production closure of the photo-hydrodynamic equations for radiative heat transfer

In the framework of a two-moment photo-hydrodynamic modelling of radiation transport, we introduce a concept for the determination of effective radiation transport coefficients based on the minimization of the local entropy production rate of radiation and (generally nongrey) matter. The method provides the nonequilibrium photon distribution from which the effective (variable) absorption coefficients and the variable Eddington factor (VEF) can be calculated. For a single band model, the photon distribution depends explicitly on the frequency dependence of the absorption coefficient. Without introducing artificial fit parameters, multi-group or multi-band concepts, our approach reproduces the exact results in both limits of optically thick (Rosseland mean) and optically thin (Planck mean) media, in contrast to the maximum entropy method. Also the results for general nonequilibrium radiation between the limits of diffusive and ballistic photons are reasonable. We conjecture that the reason for the success of our approach lies in the linearity of the underlying Boltzmann equation of the photon gas. The method is illustrated and discussed for grey matter and for a simple example of nongrey matter with a two-band absorption spectrum. The method is also briefly compared with the maximum entropy concept.     

The influence of numerical diffusion on the solution of the radiative transfer equations

We investigate the explicit numerical solution strategies of multi-dimensional radiative transfer equations which are commonly used, e.g., to determine the radiation emerging from astrophysical objects surrounded by absorbing and scattering matter. For explicit grid solvers, we identify numerical diffusion as a severe source of error in first-order discretization schemes, underestimated in former work about radiative transfer. Using the simple example of a beam propagating through vacuum, we illustrate the influence of the diffusion on the solution and discuss various techniques to reduce it. In view of the large required storage for implicit solvers, we propose to use second-order explicit grid techniques to solve 3D radiative transfer problems.     

Benchmark solutions of radiative transfer equation for three-dimensional rectangular homogeneous media

Three-dimensional steady-state radiative integral transfer equations (RITEs) for a cubic absorbing and isotropically scattering homogeneous medium are solved using the method of “subtraction of singularity”. Surface integrals and volume integrals are carried out analytically to eliminate singularities, to assure highly accurate solutions, and to reduce the computational time. The resulting system of linear equations for the incident energy is solved iteratively. Six benchmark problems for cold participating media subjected to various combinations of externally uniform/non-uniform diffuse radiation loads are considered. The solutions for the incident energy and the net heat flux components are given in tabular form for scattering albedos of ω=0, 0.5 and 1.     

Satisfaction of deDonder and Trautman conditions by radiative solutions of the Einstein field equations

We show that when the Einstein field equations for the gravitational field are modified by imposing the deDonder coordinate conditions these equations can be ‘solved’ in terms of source functions using the retarded Green's function for the d'Alembertian in flat space. The ‘solution’, which becomes an actual solution in the fast-motion approximation, is shown to satisfy the deDonder conditions if and only if the stress-energy tensor of the sources of the gravitational field is covariantly conserved. It is also shown to satisfy the Trautman outgoing radiation condition.