Accelerated self-consistent radiative transfer based on the Monte Carlo method

We present the first Monte Carlo (MC) code for three-dimensional continuum radiative transfer simulations. Absorption and scattering processes by spherical dust grains are implemented. The dust density distribution as well as the number, spatial configuration, and geometrical shape of the illuminating source(s) can be chosen urbitrarily. The spatial dust temperature distribution, the spectral energy distribution (SED), and the polarization of the emergent radiation can be simulated. Typical astrophysical applications of this code are the simulation of the radiative transfer in the envelope around young stellar objects (YSO) and the dusty environment of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The code can also be used for the calculation of the photon transport in other complicated configurations. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.