Astrophysical applications of radiation hydrodynamics

Vincent Icke
Sterrewacht leiden
26 May 2005


Cosmic fermionic matter in the Universe is gaseous, with the exception of dust 
grains and an occasional planet. Cosmic bosonic matter is in the form of 
photons. Therefore, our AstroHydro3D Project (AH3D) has focused on the 
understanding of the gas dynamics in and around stars, interstellar matter, 
galaxies and the Universe. We moved from two- to three-dimensional 
hydrodynamics, funded by the NWO Open Competition and Computational Science. 
We are now including radiation in our methods. These processes (propagation, 
ionization, photodissociation, energy and momentum exchange) are the physics 
'raison d'etre' for our work. A fascinating variety of observed objects are 
the astronomical 'raison d'etre'. Most of the processes of cosmic structure 
formation are regulated, indeed often dominated, by radiative effects in 
hydrodynamics. We intend to lead towards ever increasing realism in the 
modeling of the appearance and the inner workings of cosmic objects. This 
path is well matched with the steadily increasing angular and spectral 
resolution of observations. The richness and detail of our work cannot be 
properly captured on paper, so we earnestly and urgently request the
reader to consult our web site 

www.strw.LeidenUniv.nl/AstroHydro3D/