Calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equation

The radiative transfer equation (RTE) plays a fundamental role in modeling photon transport in various media such as biological tissues and atmospheric systems, where scattering phenomena are critical. In this study, the RTE is solved using two spherical harmonic-based numerical techniques: the Cheb...

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Main Author: Halide Koklu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2025.1570080/full
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author Halide Koklu
author_facet Halide Koklu
author_sort Halide Koklu
collection DOAJ
description The radiative transfer equation (RTE) plays a fundamental role in modeling photon transport in various media such as biological tissues and atmospheric systems, where scattering phenomena are critical. In this study, the RTE is solved using two spherical harmonic-based numerical techniques: the Chebyshev and Legendre polynomial methods. Both the Henyey–Greenstein (HG) and Anlı–Güngör (AG) scattering phase functions are employed to analyze their effectiveness in radiative thickness computations. The Marshak boundary condition is applied, and the eigenvalue problems are solved using Mathematica software across various single scattering albedo values (ω) and anisotropy coefficients (g). The results indicate that the AG phase function produces outcomes highly consistent with the HG function, demonstrating numerical robustness and stability for both methods. These findings suggest that the AG phase function, commonly used in neutron transport, can be effectively applied in radiative transfer modeling as a computationally efficient and accurate alternative in biomedical and atmospheric applications.
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spelling doaj-art-d3cf6ea46f8942eaac157b01fa77715b2025-08-20T02:32:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physics2296-424X2025-06-011310.3389/fphy.2025.15700801570080Calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equationHalide KokluThe radiative transfer equation (RTE) plays a fundamental role in modeling photon transport in various media such as biological tissues and atmospheric systems, where scattering phenomena are critical. In this study, the RTE is solved using two spherical harmonic-based numerical techniques: the Chebyshev and Legendre polynomial methods. Both the Henyey–Greenstein (HG) and Anlı–Güngör (AG) scattering phase functions are employed to analyze their effectiveness in radiative thickness computations. The Marshak boundary condition is applied, and the eigenvalue problems are solved using Mathematica software across various single scattering albedo values (ω) and anisotropy coefficients (g). The results indicate that the AG phase function produces outcomes highly consistent with the HG function, demonstrating numerical robustness and stability for both methods. These findings suggest that the AG phase function, commonly used in neutron transport, can be effectively applied in radiative transfer modeling as a computationally efficient and accurate alternative in biomedical and atmospheric applications.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2025.1570080/fullradiative transfer equationLegendre polynomialsChebyshev polynomialsHenyey–Greenstein phase functionradiative thickness
spellingShingle Halide Koklu
Calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equation
Frontiers in Physics
radiative transfer equation
Legendre polynomials
Chebyshev polynomials
Henyey–Greenstein phase function
radiative thickness
title Calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equation
title_full Calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equation
title_fullStr Calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equation
title_full_unstemmed Calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equation
title_short Calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equation
title_sort calculation of radiative thickness using spherical harmonic methods for the radiative transfer equation
topic radiative transfer equation
Legendre polynomials
Chebyshev polynomials
Henyey–Greenstein phase function
radiative thickness
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2025.1570080/full
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