We have revisited Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculations for clumpy molecular clouds. Instead of introducing a three-dimensional geometry to implement clumpy structure, we have made use of its stochastic properties in a one-dimensional geometry. Taking into account the reduction of spontaneous emission and optical depth due to clumpiness, we have derived the excitation conditions of clumpy clouds and compared them with those of three-dimensional calculations. We found that the proposed approach reproduces the excitation conditions in a way compatible to those from three-dimensional models, and reveals the dependencies of the excitation conditions on the size of clumps. When bulk motions are involved, the applicability of the approach is rather vague, but the one-dimensional approach can be an excellent proxy for more rigorous three-dimensional calculations.

Emission features formed through Raman scattering with atomic hydrogen provide unique and crucial information to probe the distribution and kinematics of a thick neutral region illuminated by a strong far-ultraviolet radiation source. We introduce a new 3-dimensional Monte-Carlo code in order to describe the radiative transfer of line photons that are subject to Raman and Rayleigh scattering with atomic hydrogen. In our Sejong Radiative Transfer through Raman and Rayleigh Scattering (STaRS) code, the position, direction, wavelength, and polarization of each photon is traced until escape. The thick neutral scattering region is divided into multiple cells with each cell being characterized by its velocity and density, which ensures exibility of the code in analyzing Raman-scattered features formed in a neutral region with complicated kinematics and density distribution. To test the code, we revisit the formation of Balmer wings through Raman scattering of the far-UV continuum near Lyβ and Lyγ in a static neutral region. An additional check is made to investigate Raman scattering of Ovi in an expanding neutral medium. We find a good agreement of our results with previous works, demonstrating the capability of dealing with radiative transfer modeling that can be applied to spectropolarimetric imaging observations of various objects including symbiotic stars, young planetary nebulae, and active galactic nuclei.

The aim of this study is to describe the physical processes taking place in the solar photosphere. Based on 3D hydrodynamic simulations including a detailed radiation transfer scheme, we investigate thermodynamic structures and radiation fields in solar surface convection. As a starting model, the initial stratification in the outer envelope calculated using the solar calibrations in the context of the standard stellar theory. When the numerical fluid becomes thermally relaxed, the thermodynamic structure of the steady-state turbulent flow was explicitly collected. Particularly, a non-grey radiative transfer incorporating the opacity distribution function was considered in our calculations. In addition, we evaluate the classical approximations that are usually adopted in the onedimensional stellar structure models. We numerically reconfirm that radiation fields are well represented by the asymptotic characteristics of the Eddington approximation (the diffusion limit and the streaming limit). However, this classical approximation underestimates radiation energy in the shallow layers near the surface, which implies that a reliable treatment of the non-grey line opacities is crucial for the accurate description of the photospheric convection phenomenon.