Abstract

Invited Talk - Plenary

Tuesday, 08 September 2026, 11:00   (MW-1801 / virtual plenum)

RADMC-3D: Connecting models to observations

MPIA Heidelberg

Images and spectra of dusty astrophysical objects contain a wealth of information. However, extracting physical parameters of these objects from these data is challenging. It requires a simulation of how radiation moves through, and gets modified by, the object of interest, before it escapes and starts its long journey towards our telescopes. This process of radiative transfer is most familiar to us in the context of stellar and planetary atmospheres, in which usually a 1D plane-parallel or spherical geometry is assumed. However, many astrophysical objects have more complex geometries that do not allow this dimensional reduction. The full 3D radiative transfer problem is hard to solve, and in most cases defies reliable analytical approximations. RADMC-3D was born out of the necessity to connect observations of dusty circumstellar nebulae and protoplanetary disks to geometric and dynamic models of these objects. It was designed from the start to be very flexible in its choice of geometries, opacities and physical processes. To keep it easy to use, an extensive set of simple example model setups, as well as an in-depth and detailed manual was provided. In this talk I will give a brief overview of RADMC-3D, its current capabilities and what is planned for the future. I will also speculate about how it may interface with AI and ML.