Analytical solution of the radiative transfer equation for polarized light
Astrophysics
2007-05-23 v1
Abstract
A new formalism is introduced for the transfer of polarized radiation. Stokes parameters are shown to be four-vectors in a Minkowski-like space and, most strikingly, the radiative transfer equation (RTE) turns out to be an infinitesimal transformation under the Poincare (plus dilatations) group. A solution to the transfer equation as a finite element of this group is proposed.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9909232,
title = {Analytical solution of the radiative transfer equation for polarized light},
author = {A. Lopez Ariste and M. Semel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9909232},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in A&A Main Journal. 12 pages, 1 figure