The physics of volume rendering

TL;DR

This paper explores the connection between physical radiation transfer and computer graphics volume rendering, demonstrating an implementation within an astrophysical simulation code and showcasing its application on models and data.

Contribution

It introduces a novel integration of physical radiation transfer principles into volume rendering within an astrophysical simulation framework.

Findings

Successful implementation of volume rendering in RADMC-3D

Demonstrated visualization of analytical and simulation data

Highlighted the physical basis of volume rendering techniques

Abstract

Radiation transfer is an important topic in several physical disciplines, probably most prominently in astrophysics. Computer scientists use radiation transfer, among other things, for the visualisation of complex data sets with direct volume rendering. In this note, I point out the connection between physical radiation transfer and volume rendering, and I describe an implementation of direct volume rendering in the astrophysical radiation transfer code RADMC-3D. I show examples for the use of this module on analytical models and simulation data.