An Introduction to Radiative Transfer: Methods and Applications in Astrophysics

Presents the methodologies used by astrophysicists for solving the radiative transfer equation.

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Analyzing the light coming from stellar atmosphere-like objects calls for different methods depending on both physical conditions and the preference of the astrophysicist. This work aims to present a general overview of all of the methodologies of radiative transfer as applied in astrophysics or more particularly in stellar atmospheres and objects with similar geometrical conditions. The author presents several methods both old and new, although in the interests of brevity, left out a few that he admits were of equal interest as the ones covered. Chapters cover definitions of fundamental quantities in the radiation field, the equation of radiative transfer, methods of solution of the transfer equation, two-point boundary problems, the principle of variance, discrete space theory, the transfer equation in moving media, the radiative transfer equation in the comoving frame, escape probability methods, operator perturbation methods, polarization, polarization in magnetic media, and multi-dimensional radiative transfer. The text assumes a familiarity of mathematics and physics as taught at the undergraduate level. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Annamaneni Peraiah obtained his doctorate in radiative transfer from Oxford University. He was formerly a Senior Professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, India. He has held positions in India, Canada, Germany and The Netherlands. His research interests include developing solutions to the radiative transfer equation in stellar atmospheres, and line formation in expanding atmospheres with different physical and geometrical conditions.