A posteriori error control in radiative transfer

This note introduces a finite element approach for a radiative transfer model equation which allows for a posteriori error control and thus opens up the way for adaptive grid refinement strategies. Apart from a posteriori error estimates for the mean intensity, we demonstrate corresponding results for the intensity and compare our error estimators with a new, simple and rather promising error indicator for hyperbolic problems. We specifically emphasize that our ‘pure’ finite element technique is equivalent to the well-established discrete ordinates method favored by many users.