Welcome!

Submillimeter observations are a key for answering many of the big questions in modern-day astrophysics, such as how stars and planets form, how galaxies evolve, and how material cycles through stars and the interstellar medium. With the upcoming large submillimeter facilities ALMA and Herschel a new window will open to study these questions. Within the ASTRONET first joint call for proposals, "Common Tools for Future Large Submillimeter Facilities", we have been awarded funding for our program, "Adaptable Radiative Transfer Innovations for Submillimeter Telescopes (ARTIST)", to develop a next generation model suite for comprehensive multi-dimensional radiative transfer calculations of the dust and line emission, as well as their polarization, to help interpret observations with these groundbreaking facilities.

The tool will consist of three main components:

1. An innovative radiative transfer code using adaptive gridding that allows simulations of sources with arbitrary multi-dimensional (1D, 2D, 3D) and time-dependent structures, ensuring rapid convergence even for complex molecules, such as H₂O.
2. Unique tools for modeling the polarization of the line and dust emission, information that will come with standard ALMA observations.
3. A comprehensive interface connecting these packages.