The CCPP Network in Computational Plasma Physics

CCPP是等离子体物理学的合作计算项目。这是一个由30名英国研究人员组成的网络，于2007年底成立。它致力于开发、维护和分发实验室等离子体物理学中等离子体物理模拟的世界领先代码，包括激光等离子体和聚变研究、空间科学和天体物理学。这些代码涵盖了从天体物理尺度上的流体处理到飞秒激光脉冲的完全动力学相对论模拟的等离子体模型的整个光谱。该网络计划为英国社区建立一个主要的等离子体物理软件库，并鼓励在这些开发中进行合作和组件交换和重用。随着这些守则的发展，该网络还将通过讲习班和会议协调对这些守则的现有和新用户，特别是博士生的培训。在所有的软件开发中，CCPP将鼓励使用并通过教学课程和研讨会传播软件工具和可视化软件的最佳实践。自成立以来，CCPP一直专注于确定英国广泛受益的共同项目。CCPP成员的两次完整会议已经确定了英国在不久的将来的主要计算等离子体物理需求。这导致了几个工作组正在研究CCPP职权范围的不同领域。这些措施包括开发一个英国核心动力学代码，基于粒子在细胞（PIC）技术，它可以被用作先进的扩展的一个共同的积木。这个核心代码现在通过CCPForge（http：//ccpforge.cse.rl.ac.uk/projects/epoch/）以1D、2D和3D版本发布，并被称为EPOCH（可扩展开放PIC协作）。一个小组正在研究开发一种使用自适应网格细化（AMR）的策略，以减轻直接Vlasov求解器的内存需求，该求解器需要4到6个维度加上时间，具体取决于物理问题。另一组（扩展的流体模型）旨在开发新的算法，将非流体效应纳入流体框架，以允许在长尺度长度和时间尺度上进行激光等离子体相互作用和天体物理学的高级模拟。最后一个小组的目标是扩展英国的计算能力，模拟湍流负责磁约束聚变实验中的异常运输。这些代码需要解决的陀螺动力学等离子体方程在全环几何。因此，自联合循环发电厂成立以来，活动集中在先进的PIC、AMR Vlasov、扩展的水力和陀螺动力学代码上。其中，通过EPOCH发布的先进PIC是最先进的，并且在最广泛的等离子体物理学中具有直接应用。每个项目的主要小组领导人的业绩记录如下，尽管所有30个联合循环发电厂成员都参与了至少一个项目。

CCPP is the Collaborative Computational Project for Plasma Physics. It is a network of 30 UK researchers that came into existence in late 2007. It serves to develop, maintain and distribute world-leading codes for plasma physics simulations in laboratory plasma physics, including laser plasmas and fusion studies, space science and astrophysics. These codes cover the whole spectrum of plasma models from fluid treatments on astrophysical scales to fully kinetic relativistic simulations of femtosecond laser pulses. The network plans to establish a major repository of plasma physics software for the UK community and to encourage collaboration and component exchange and reuse in these developments. As these codes develop the network will also co-ordinate training for existing and new users of these codes, especially PhD students, through workshops and meetings. In all its software developments CCPP will encourage the use of and disseminate through taught courses and workshops, best practice in the use of software tools and visualization software.Since being set up CCPP has concentrated on defining common projects of UK wide benefit. Two full meetings of the CCPP members have defined the principal UK computational plasma physics needs for the immediate future. This has lead to several working groups who are looking at different areas of the CCPP remit. These include the development of a UK core kinetic code, based on the particle in cell (PIC) technique, which can be used as a common building block for advanced extensions. This core code is now released in 1D, 2D and 3D versions through CCPForge (http://ccpforge.cse.rl.ac.uk/projects/epoch/) and is called EPOCH (Extendible Open PIC Collaboration). One group is looking at developing a strategy for using adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) to alleviate the memory requirements of direct Vlasov solvers which need between 4 and 6 dimensions plus time depending on the physics problem. Another group (extended hydro models) aims to develop new algorithms for including non fluid effects into a fluid framework to allow advanced simulations in laser plasma interactions and astrophysics over long scale lengths and timescales. A final group aims to extend the UK computational capability for simulating the turbulence responsible for anomalous transport in magnetically confined fusion experiments. These codes need to solve the gyro-kinetic plasma equations in full toroidal geometry. The activity since forming the CCPP has therefore concentrated on advanced PIC, AMR Vlasov, extended hydro and gyro-kinetic codes. Of these the advanced PIC, through the EPOCH release, is the most developed and has immediate applications across the widest range of plasma physics. The track records of the principal group leaders for each of these projects are below although all 30 CCPP members are involved in at least one of the projects.