Monte Carlo simulation of Lane–Emden type equations arising in astrophysics

Abstract

Monte Carlo (MC) method played an essential role in many areas of human activity and has found application in many branches of physical science. This paper proposes a computational technique based on MC algorithms to solve Lane–Emden (LE) type equations. We analyze four LE equations arising in astrophysics: the positive and negative indices of the polytropic gas spheres, the isothermal gas sphere, and the white dwarf equation. We calculated eleven models (i.e., eleven LE equations) of the positive index polytropes, nine for the negative index polytrope, the isothermal gas sphere, and the white dwarf equation. Comparing the MC and numerical/analytical models gives good agreement for the four LE equations under study.