Simulating radiative transfer with filtered spherical harmonics

This Letter presents a novel application of filters to the spherical harmonics (PN) expansion for radiative transfer problems in the high-energy-density regime. The filter, which is based on non-oscillatory spherical splines, preserves both the equilibrium diffusion limit and formal convergence properties of the unfiltered expansion. While the method requires further mathematical justification and computational studies, preliminary results demonstrate that solutions to the filtered PN equations are (1) more robust and less oscillatory than standard PN solutions and (2) more accurate than discrete ordinates solutions of comparable order. The filtered P₇ solution demonstrates comparable accuracy to an implicit Monte Carlo solution for a benchmark hohlraum problem. Given the benefits of this method we believe it will enable more routine use of high-fidelity radiation-hydrodynamics calculations in the simulation of physical systems.     

Sparse tensor spherical harmonics approximation in radiative transfer

The stationary monochromatic radiative transfer equation is a partial differential transport equation stated on a five-dimensional phase space. To obtain a well-posed problem, boundary conditions have to be prescribed on the inflow part of the domain boundary.     

Elliptic PDE formulation and boundary conditions of the spherical harmonics method of arbitrary order for general three-dimensional geometries

The inherent complexity of the radiative transfer equation makes the exact treatment of radiative heat transfer impossible even for idealized situations and simple boundary conditions. Therefore, a wide variety of efficient solution methods have been developed for the RTE. Among these solution methods the spherical harmonics method, the moment method, and the discrete ordinates method provide means to obtain higher-order approximate solutions to the equation of radiative transfer. Although the assembly of the governing equations for the spherical harmonics method requires tedious algebra, their final form promises great accuracy for any given order, since it is a spectral method (rather than finite difference/finite volume in the case of discrete ordinates). In this study, a new methodology outlined in a previous paper on the spherical harmonics method (P_N) is further developed. The new methodology employs successive elimination of spherical harmonic tensors, thus reducing the number of first-order partial differential equations needed to be solved simultaneously by previous P_N approximations (=(N+1)²). The result is a relatively small set (=N(N+1)/2) of second-order, elliptic partial differential equations, which can be solved with standard PDE solution packages. General boundary conditions and supplementary conditions using rotation of spherical harmonics in terms of local coordinates are formulated for the general P_N approximation for arbitrary three-dimensional geometries. Accuracy of the P_N approximation can be further improved by applying the “modified differential approximation” approach first developed for the P₁-approximation. Numerical computations are carried out with the P₃ approximation for several new two-dimensional problems with emitting, absorbing, and scattering media. Results are compared to Monte Carlo solutions and discrete ordinates simulations and a discussion of ray effects and false scattering is provided.     

Matrix compression for spherical harmonics expansions of the Boltzmann transport equation for semiconductors

We investigate numerical solution schemes for the semiconductor Boltzmann transport equation using an expansion of the distribution function in spherical harmonics. A complexity analysis shows that traditional implementations using higher-order expansions suffer from huge memory requirements, especially for two- and three-dimensional devices. To overcome these complexity limitations, a compressed matrix storage scheme using Kronecker products is proposed, which reduces the asymptotic memory requirements for the storage of the system matrix significantly. The total memory requirements are then dominated by the memory required for the unknowns. Numerical results demonstrate the applicability of our method and confirm our theoretical results.     

Towards linearization of atmospheric radiative transfer in spherical geometry

We present a general approach for the linearization of radiative transfer in a spherical planetary atmosphere. The approach is based on the forward-adjoint perturbation theory. In the first part we develop the theoretical background for a linearization of radiative transfer in spherical geometry. Using an operator formulation of radiative transfer allows one to derive the linearization principles in a universally valid notation. The application of the derived principles is demonstrated for a radiative transfer problem in simplified spherical geometry in the second part of this paper. Here, we calculate the derivatives of the radiance at the top of the atmosphere with respect to the absorption properties of a trace gas species in the case of a nadir-viewing satellite instrument.     

A fast and stable method for rotating spherical harmonic expansions

In this paper, we present a simple and efficient method for rotating a spherical harmonic expansion. This is a well-studied problem, arising in classical scattering theory, quantum mechanics and numerical analysis, usually addressed through the explicit construction of the Wigner rotation matrices. We show that rotation can be carried out easily and stably through “pseudospectral” projection, without ever constructing the matrix entries themselves. Existing fast algorithms, based on recurrence relations, are subject to a variety of instabilities, limiting the effectiveness of the approach for expansions of high degree.     

Solution of the equation of radiative transfer for interlocked doublets by double interval spherical harmonic method

The double-ordinate spherical harmonic method presented by Wilson and Sen (Publ. Astron. Soc. Jpn. 15 (1963) 351) has been used to solve the equation of radiative transfer in the Milne-Eddington model for interlocked doublets. Solutions have been obtained in the first and second approximation in a particular case η₁=1; .     

Efficient and accurate rotation of finite spherical harmonics expansions

Spherical harmonics are employed in a wide range of applications in computational science and physics, and many of them require the rotation of functions. We present an efficient and accurate algorithm for the rotation of finite spherical harmonics expansions. Exploiting the pointwise action of the rotation group on functions on the sphere, we obtain the spherical harmonics expansion of a rotated signal from function values at rotated sampling points. The number of sampling points and their location permits one to balance performance and accuracy, making our technique well-suited for a wide range of applications. Numerical experiments comparing different sampling schemes and various techniques from the literature are presented, making this the first thorough evaluation of spherical harmonics rotation algorithms.     

Registering spherical navigators with spherical harmonic expansions to measure three-dimensional rotations in magnetic resonance imaging

Subject motion remains a challenging problem to overcome in clinical and research applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Subject motion degrades the quality of MR images and the integrity of experimental data. A promising method to correct for subject motion in MRI is the spherical navigator (SNAV) echo. Spherical navigators acquire k-space data on the surface of a sphere in order to measure three-dimensional (3D) rigid-body motion. Analysis begins by registering the magnitude of two SNAVs to determine the 3D rotation between them. Several different methods to register SNAV data exist, each with specific capabilities and limitations. In this study, we assessed the accuracy, precision and computational requirements of measuring rotations about all three coordinate axes by correlating the spherical harmonic expansions of SNAV data. We compare the results of this technique to previous SNAV studies and show that, although computationally expensive, the spherical harmonic technique is a highly accurate, precise and robust method to register SNAVs and detect 3D rotations in MRI. A key advantage to the spherical harmonic technique is the ability to optimize the accuracy, precision, processing time and memory requirements by adjusting parameters used in the registration. While present developments are aimed at improving the programming efficiency and memory handling of the algorithm, this registration technique is currently well suited for retrospective motion correction applications, such as removing motion-related image artifacts and aligning slices within a high-resolution 3D volume.     

On “Radiative transfer in three-dimensional rectangular enclosures containing inhomogeneous, anisotropically scattering media”

Our 1985 paper (JQSRT 1985; 33: 533-549) reported the result of the research we conducted back then to better understand heat transfer processes in large-scale combustion chambers, especially in pulverized coal-fired furnaces. It was one of the first works exploring radiative transfer in three-dimensional enclosures where absorption and scattering coefficients due to combustion particles and gases were allowed to vary within the medium. This flexibility of the mathematical model made it useful for applications to realistic furnaces and different types of high-temperature systems. This note briefly discusses the motivation behind the paper and the immediate extension of the idea to different systems.     

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.     

Solution of the equation of transfer for coherent anisotropic scattering by double interval spherical harmonic method

The double interval spherical harmonic method introduced effectively by Wilson and Sen has already been used by Ghosh and Karanjai to solve the equation of radiative transfer in coherent isotropic scattering atmosphere, originally developed by Woolley and Stibbs. The same method has been successfully used in this paper to solve the equation of transfer for coherent anisotropic scattering.     

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.     

Variational method for solving radiative transfer problems

The variational principle is used to solve two problems of radiative transfer. The first one is the temperature distribution and radiative heat flux for a plane layer of ceramic material. While the second is the calculation of the integral blankness degree of a sphere filled with dust of an arc steel-melting furnace. Numerical results obtained shows good agreement with the published data.     

Radiative transfer equation for graded index medium in cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems

In graded index medium, the ray goes along a curved path determined by Fermat principle, and the curved ray-tracing is very difficult and complex. To avoid the complicated and time-consuming computation of curved ray trajectory, the methods not based on ray-tracing technique need to be developed for the solution of radiative transfer in graded index medium. For this purpose, in this paper the streaming operator along a curved ray trajectory in original radiative transfer equation for graded index medium is transformed and expressed in spatial and angular ordinates and the radiative transfer equation for graded index medium in cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems are derived. The conservative and the non-conservative forms of radiative transfer equation for three-dimensional graded index medium are given, which can be used as base equations to develop the numerical simulation methods, such as finite volume method, discrete ordinates method, and finite element method, for radiative transfer in graded index medium in cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems.     

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.     

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.