Radiative transfer in the stochastic interstellar medium (Q4262882)

The paper represents an interesting attempt to develop a general formalism for describing linear transport in a stochastic medium. The authors considered a Boltzmann-like mathematical model of photon transfer in an interstellar cloud, containing one or more clumps, whose centers are distributed stochastically. The approach to the problem is taking into account the simplest situation, viz. that of the time-independent transport through a purely absorbing medium composed of two randomly mixed fluids. The statistical description of the two immiscible fluids is emphasized. The density distribution of the mixture is given by a random field function which maps the structure of the medium. An equation for the expected value of the photon intensity is derived using the smoothing method. This equation contains an infinite formal Neumann series which includes multiple applications of the inverse transport operator. The reliability of the truncated series is discussed and the explicit expression of the general multipoint autocorrelation functions of the cross-section is given. Finally, the radiative transfer equation, up to an arbitrary order, is proved to be actually a Volterra equation. Possible extensions to include time-dependence as well as scattering process are also examined.