A Fast and Accurate Method of Radiation Hydrodynamics Calculation in Spherical Symmetry

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Abstract We develop a new numerical scheme for solving the radiative transfer equation in a spherically symmetric system. This scheme does not rely on any kind of diffusion approximation, and it is accurate for optically thin, thick, and intermediate systems. In the limit of a homogeneously distributed extinction coefficient, our method is very accurate and exceptionally fast. We combine this fast method with a slower but more generally applicable method to describe realistic problems. We perform various test calculations, including a simplified protostellar collapse simulation. We also discuss possible future improvements.