Angular smoothing and spatial diffusion from the Feynman path integral representation of radiative transfer

The propagation kernel for time dependent radiative transfer is represented by a Feynman path integral (FPI). The FPI is approximately evaluated in the spatial-Fourier domain. Spatial diffusion is exhibited in the kernel when the approximations lead to a Gaussian dependence on the Fourier domain wave vector. The approximations provide an explicit expression for the diffusion matrix. They also provide an asymptotic criterion for the self-consistency of the diffusion approximation. The criterion is weakly violated in the limit of large numbers of scattering lengths. Additional expansion of higher-order terms may resolve whether this weak violation is significant.

Research Highlights►Explicit Feynman path integral formulation of radiative transfer. ►Systematic approximation process for evaluating the FPI. ►Asymptotic criteria for validity of approximation. ►Evaluation of the diffusion limit of the expansion.