This grant will support the adaptation of recent advances in astrophysical radiative transfer studies to address several outstanding problems in aeronomy. Specifically, the PI will study: (1) multidimensional radiative transfer, including optically thick resonance lines in the aurora, geocorona, and twilight, as well as the problem of atomic oxygen measurements using resonance lamps; (2) molecular band simulation with correct accounting for non-LTE effects; and (3) optimization of large 1-D problems requiring the solution of several hundreds to perhaps thousands of individual 1-D problems. Using the Accelerated Lambda Iteration (ALI) method, the PI will approximate the full scattering integral to explore rapid, accurate solutions to difficult radiative transfer problems in astrophysics. These methods will lead to the development of codes to address problems on aeronomical interest.
