Efficient radiative transfer techniques in hydrodynamic simulations

• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/sty1290
• Publication Date: 2018-05-16T15:12:48Z
• Authors: A Mercer; D Stamatellos; A Dunhill
• Keywords: Radiative Cooling; Gravitational potential

Radiative transfer is an important component of hydrodynamic simulations as it determines the thermal properties a physical system. It especially in cases where heating and cooling regulate significant processes, such collapse molecular clouds, development gravitational instabilities protostellar discs, disc-planet interactions, planet migration. We compare two approximate radiative methods which indirectly estimate optical depths within using different metrics: (i) potential density gas (Stamatellos et al.), (ii) pressure scale-height (Lombardi al.). find that both are accurate for spherical configurations e.g. collapsing clouds clumps form discs. However, approach more discs (low high-mass with spiral features, embedded planets). also investigate $\beta$-cooling approximation commonly used when simulating time proportional to orbital period gas. demonstrate use constant $\beta$ cannot capture wide range spatial temporal variations may affect instabilities, migration, mass growth, planets.