Comparison between radiative transfer theory and the simplified spherical harmonics approximation for a semi-infinite geometry

Abstract

In this study, the third-order simplified spherical harmonics equations (SP3), an approximation of the radiative transfer equation, are solved for a semi-infinite geometry considering the exact simplified spherical harmonics boundary conditions. The obtained Green's function is compared to radiative transfer calculations and the diffusion theory. In general, it is shown that the SP3 equations provide better results than the diffusion approximation in media with high absorption coefficient values but no improvement is found for small distances to the source.