Petascale plasma physics simulations using PIC codes

该奖项促进了使用IBM开发的名为Blue沃茨的大型新计算资源的科学研究，并计划部署在伊利诺伊大学。它提供差旅费，以支持主要调查员、蓝色沃茨项目小组和供应商技术小组之间的技术协调。该项目团队将利用Blue沃茨推进加州大学洛杉矶分校等离子体模拟组和OSIRIS联盟的联合研究目标。这些研究目标包括四个不同的等离子体物理问题，这些问题依赖于使用粒子在细胞（PIC）算法的模拟。这些算法在六个不同的代码中实现，由UCLA等离子体模拟组和OSIRIS联盟维护。该项目将把这个PIC基础设施带到Blue沃茨，以解决四个等离子体物理学重大挑战模拟：第一个3D模拟组装的快速点火目标，其大小与聚变能量有关;探索与相对论无碰撞冲击相关的宇宙加速器机制;具有必要空间分辨率的模拟，以探索作为替代加速结构的相对论运动等离子体波（到目前的粒子加速器）;区域三维PIC模拟能够确定亚暴在地球磁尾的开始。PIC代码用于科学发现，这些发现影响了具有重大社会影响的各个领域，如高能物理，聚变能和通信卫星的可靠性。拟议的研究也与新的数字研究和教育研究所（IDRE）有很大的协同作用。这将使研究结果广泛影响加州大学洛杉矶分校的研究和教育。

This award facilitates scientific research using the large, new, computational resource named Blue Waters being developed by IBM and scheduled to be deployed at the University of Illinois. It provides travel funds to support technical coordination between the principal investigators, the Blue Waters project team and the vendor technical team. The project team will use Blue Waters to advance the joint research goals of the UCLA Simulation of Plasmas Group and the OSIRIS Consortium. Those research goals encompass four distinct plasma physics questions which rely on simulations using particle in cell (PIC) algorithms. These algorithms are implemented in six different codes maintained by the UCLA Plasma Simulation Group and the OSIRIS Consortium. The project will bring this PIC infrastructure to Blue Waters to address four plasma physics grand challenge simulations: first 3D simulation of an assembled fast ignition target with a size of interest for fusion energy; exploration of the mechanisms of cosmic accelerators associated with relativistic collisionless shocks; simulations with the necessary spatial resolution to explore relativistically moving plasma waves as an alternative accelerating structure (to current particle accelerators); regional 3D PIC simulations capable of identifying substorm onset in the Earth magnetotail. PIC codes are used to make scientific discoveries that impact diverse fields with significant societal impact such as high-energy physics, fusion energy, and reliability of communication satellites. The proposed research also has much synergy with the new Institute for Digital Research and Education (IDRE). This will allow results to broadly impact research and education at UCLA.