Petascale plasma physics simulations using PIC codes

该奖项使用IBM正在开发并计划部署在伊利诺伊大学的名为Blue Waters的大型、新的计算资源来促进科学研究。它提供差旅资金，以支持主要调查员、Blue Waters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 Waters推进加州大学洛杉矶分校等离子体模拟小组和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。这些算法在加州大学洛杉矶分校等离子体模拟组和OSIRIS联盟维护的六个不同代码中实现。该项目将把这个PIC基础设施带到Blue Waters，以应对四个重大挑战：第一，对组装的快速点火目标进行三维模拟，其尺寸适合聚变能量；第二，探索与相对论无碰撞冲击有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(当前粒子加速器的)替代加速结构的相对论移动的等离子体波；以及区域三维PIC模拟，能够确定地球磁尾的亚暴开始。PIC代码用于做出影响多个具有重大社会影响的领域的科学发现，如高能物理、聚变能源和通信卫星的可靠性。拟议的研究还与新的数字研究和教育研究所(IDRE)有很大的协同作用。这将使研究成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.