Monte Carlo Radiation Hydrodynamics: First Results (MNRAS paper)
As a result of my diploma thesis and the ensuing work as part of my PhD project, the first paper on Monte Carlo radiation hydrodynamics has been published. There, we outline the theoretical foundations of our method, MCRH, and describe the involved numerical techniques in detail, in particular the time-dependent Monte Carlo machinery and the Monte Carlo estimator formalism. A series of successful test calculations is presented to demonstrate the computational feasibility and physical accuracy of the basic one-dimensional grey implementation of the method, featuring a grey radiative transfer module. Among these, the determination of the structure of sub- and supercritical radiative shocks provided the most demanding test. As the first application to an astrophysical environment, we investigate the effect of the radiation field generated by radioactive decays on the dynamics of type Ia supernova ejecta. The radiation field induced changes on the order of 10 per cent in the density stratification compared to a pure homologous evolution, which are, as already found in previous studies, too weak to affect the bolometric light curve.