Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “accelerator simulation”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 685 records · Page 38

Shock acceleration of diffuse ions at the earth's bow shock Acceleration efficiency and A/Z enhancement

Observations of particle spectra, intensity, and enhancement of alpha particles over protons at diffuse ion events at the quasi-parallel earth bow shock are compared to a Monte Carlo simulation of diffusive shock acceleration. The simulation includes the back reaction of accelerated particles on the shock structure, particle escape at an upstream free escape boundary, and a low energy per nucleon threshold for thermal leakage of downstream, shock-heated particles into the upstream region. The simulation assumes that the same scattering operator that gives rise to shock acceleration can also describe a viscous shock governed by hydrodynamic turbulence. This implies that accelerated ions can be drawn directly from the thermal solar wind with no separate superthermal seed population. Good agreement between the simulation and observations made during nearly radial magnetic field configurations lends support to thermal leakage of downstream, shock-heated ions as the mode of injection for diffusion ion events.

Ellison, D. C.↗

ELECTRON ACCELERATIONS AT HIGH MACH NUMBER SHOCKS: TWO-DIMENSIONAL PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS IN VARIOUS PARAMETER REGIMES

Electron accelerations at high Mach number collisionless shocks are investigated by means of two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations with various Alfven Mach numbers, ion-to-electron mass ratios, and the upstream electron {beta}{sub e} (the ratio of the thermal pressure to the magnetic pressure). We find electrons are effectively accelerated at a super-high Mach number shock (M{sub A} {approx} 30) with a mass ratio of M/m = 100 and {beta}{sub e} = 0.5. The electron shock surfing acceleration is an effective mechanism for accelerating the particles toward the relativistic regime even in two dimensions with a large mass ratio. Buneman instability excited at the leading edge of the foot in the super-high Mach number shock results in a coherent electrostatic potential structure. While multi-dimensionality allows the electrons to escape from the trapping region, they can interact with the strong electrostatic field several times. Simulation runs in various parameter regimes indicate that the electron shock surfing acceleration is an effective mechanism for producing relativistic particles in extremely high Mach number shocks in supernova remnants, provided that the upstream electron temperature is reasonably low.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Simulation of electron distributions within auroral acceleration regions

Plasma data from the Dynamics Explorer 1 satellite are used to investigate the electron distributions found within regions of parallel potential drops. A computer simulation was developed to predict major features of the observed electron distributions found within these regions. The simulation results are discussed and compared with observations. Good agreement is observed only when the potential distribution along the field line is split into separate potential drops, one above and one below the satellite. The simulated electron distribution exhibits a trapped particle region, the formation of the electron hole, and the evacuation of the loss cone.

Gurgiolo, C.↗

A cycle-jump acceleration method for the crystal plasticity simulation of high cycle fatigue of the metallic microstructure

For metallic materials, high-cycle fatigue life is sensitive to underlying microstructure features including secondary phases, textures, grains morphology, etc. The traditional, data-based safe-life approaches for modeling fatigue don’t explicitly consider the microstructure and can’t guide study in microstructure modification for improved fatigue property. Crystal plasticity-based simulation provides increased model fidelity at the expense of immense computation time, making it inapplicable for high cycle fatigue. In this work, an acceleration method based on cycle-jump approach (Lesne and Savalle, 1989) was developed for microstructure-based high-cycle FE simulation using crystal plasticity constitutive-model. We report this method demonstrated high efficiency in benchmark tests of various conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Early Experiences Porting the NAMD and VMD Molecular Simulation and Analysis Software to GPU-Accelerated OpenPOWER Platforms, In: ISC High Performance 2016: High Performance Computing

All-atom molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecules provide a powerful tool for exploring the structure and dynamics of large protein complexes within realistic cellular environments. Unfortunately, such simulations are extremely demanding in terms of their computational requirements, and they present many challenges in terms of preparation, simulation methodology, and analysis and visualization of results. We describe our early experiences porting the popular molecular dynamics simulation program NAMD and the simulation preparation, analysis, and visualization tool VMD to GPU-accelerated OpenPOWER hardware platforms. We report our experiences with compiler-provided autovectorization and compare with hand-coded vector intrinsics for the POWER8 CPU. We explore the performance benefits obtained from unique POWER8 architectural features such as 8-way SMT and its value for particular molecular modeling tasks. Finally, we evaluate the performance of several GPU-accelerated molecular modeling kernels and relate them to other hardware platforms.

Computer Science↗

A KINETIC TRANSPORT THEORY FOR PARTICLE ACCELERATION AND TRANSPORT IN REGIONS OF MULTIPLE CONTRACTING AND RECONNECTING INERTIAL-SCALE FLUX ROPES

Simulations of particle acceleration in turbulent plasma regions with multiple contracting and merging (reconnecting) magnetic islands emphasize the key role of temporary particle trapping in island structures for the efficient acceleration of particles to form hard power-law spectra. Statistical kinetic transport theories have been developed that capture the essential physics of particle acceleration in multi-island regions. The transport theory of Zank et al. is further developed by considering the acceleration effects of both the mean and the variance of the electric fields induced by the dynamics of multiple inertial-scale flux ropes. A focused transport equation is derived that includes new Fokker-Planck terms for particle scattering and stochastic acceleration due to the variance in multiple flux-rope magnetic fields, plasma flows, and reconnection electric fields. A Parker transport equation is also derived in which a new expression for momentum diffusion appears, combining stochastic acceleration by particle scattering in the mean multi-flux-rope electric fields with acceleration by the variance in these electric fields. Test particle acceleration is modeled analytically considering drift acceleration by the variance in the induced electric fields of flux ropes in the slow supersonic, radially expanding solar wind. Hard power-law spectra occur for sufficiently strong inertial-scale flux ropes with an index modified by adiabatic cooling, solar wind advection, and diffusive escape from flux ropes. Flux ropes might be sufficiently strong behind interplanetary shocks where the index of suprathermal ion power-law spectra observed in the supersonic solar wind can be reproduced.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Acceleration and sensitivity analysis of lattice kinetic Monte Carlo simulations using parallel processing and rate constant rescaling

Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation provides insights into catalytic reactions unobtainable with either experiments or mean-field microkinetic models. Sensitivity analysis of KMC models assesses the robustness of the predictions to parametric perturbations and identifies rate determining steps in a chemical reaction network. Stiffness in the chemical reaction network, a ubiquitous feature, demands lengthy run times for KMC models and renders efficient sensitivity analysis based on the likelihood ratio method unusable. We address the challenge of efficiently conducting KMC simulations and performing accurate sensitivity analysis in systems with unknown time scales by employing two acceleration techniques: rate constant rescaling and parallel processing. We develop statistical criteria that ensure sufficient sampling of non-equilibrium steady state conditions. Our approach provides the twofold benefit of accelerating the simulation itself and enabling likelihood ratio sensitivity analysis, which provides further speedup relative to finite difference sensitivity analysis. As a result, the likelihood ratio method can be applied to real chemistry. We apply our methodology to the water-gas shift reaction on Pt(111).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Small field in-air output factors: The role of miniphantom design and dosimeter type

Purpose: The commissioning of treatment planning systems and beam modeling requires measured input parameters. The measurement of relative output in-air, S{sub c} is particularly difficult for small fields. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of miniphantom design and detector selection on measured S{sub c} values for small fields and to validate the measurements against Monte Carlo simulations. Methods: Measurements were performed using brass caps (with sidewalls) or tops (no sidewalls) of varying heights and widths. The performance of two unshielded diodes (60012 and SFD), EBT2 radiochromic film, and a fiber optic dosimeter (FOD) were compared for fields defined by MLCs (5–100 mm) and SRS cones (4–30 mm) on a Varian Novalis linear accelerator. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to theoretically predict S{sub c} as measured by the FOD. Results: For all detectors, S{sub c} agreed to within 1% for fields larger than 10 mm and to within 2.3% for smaller fields. Monte Carlo simulation matched the FOD measurements for all size of cone defined fields to within 0.5%. Conclusions: Miniphantom design is the most important variable for reproducible and accurate measurements of the in-air output ratio, S{sub c}, in small photon fields (less than 30 mm). Sidewalls are not required for fields ≤ 30 mm and tops are therefore preferred over the larger caps. Unlike output measurements in water, S{sub cp,} the selection of detector type for S{sub c} is not critical, provided the active dosimeter volume is small relative to the field size.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Phase Space Reconstruction from Accelerator Beam Measurements Using Neural Networks and Differentiable Simulations

Characterizing the phase space distribution of particle beams in accelerators is a central part of accelerator understanding and performance optimization. However, conventional reconstruction-based techniques either use simplifying assumptions or require specialized diagnostics to infer high-dimensional (> $2D$) beam properties. In this Letter, we introduce a general-purpose algorithm that combines neural networks with differentiable particle tracking to efficiently reconstruct high-dimensional phase space distributions without using specialized beam diagnostics or beam manipulations. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our algorithm accurately reconstructs detailed 4D phase space distributions with corresponding confidence intervals in both simulation and experiment using a single focusing quadrupole and diagnostic screen. This technique allows for the measurement of multiple correlated phase spaces simultaneously, which will enable simplified 6D phase space distribution reconstructions in the future.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Electron acceleration by magnetic islands in a dynamically evolved coronal current sheet

This work simulated the electron acceleration by magnetic islands in a drastically evolved solar coronal current sheet via the combined 2.5-dimensional (2.5D) resistive Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and guiding-center approximation test-particle methods. With high magnetic Reynolds number of 105, the long–thin current sheet is evolved into a chain of magnetic islands, growing in size and coalescing with each other, due to tearing instability. The acceleration of electrons is studied in one typical phase when several large magnetic islands are formed. The results show that the electrons with an initial Maxwell distribution evolve into a heavy-tailed distribution and more than 20% of the electrons can be accelerated higher than 200 keV within 0.1 second and some of them can even be energized up to MeV ranges. The most energetic electrons have a tendency to be around the outer regions of the magnetic islands or to be located in the small secondary magnetic islands. We find that the acceleration and spatial distributions of the energetic electrons is caused by the trapping effect of the magnetic islands and the distributions of the parallel electric field E{sub p}.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

TURBULENCE AND RADIO MINI-HALOS IN THE SLOSHING CORES OF GALAXY CLUSTERS

A number of relaxed, cool-core galaxy clusters exhibit diffuse, steep-spectrum radio sources in their central regions, known as radio mini-halos. It has been proposed that the relativistic electrons responsible for the emission have been reaccelerated by turbulence generated by the sloshing of the cool core gas. We present a high-resolution MHD simulation of gas sloshing in a galaxy cluster coupled with subgrid simulations of relativistic electron acceleration to test this hypothesis. Our simulation shows that the sloshing motions generate turbulence on the order of {delta}v {approx} 50-200 km s{sup -1} on spatial scales of {approx}50-100 kpc and below in the cool core region within the envelope of the sloshing cold fronts, whereas outside the cold fronts, there is negligible turbulence. This turbulence is potentially strong enough to reaccelerate relativistic electron seeds (with initial {gamma} {approx} 100-500) to {gamma} {approx} 10{sup 4} via damping of magnetosonic waves and non-resonant compression. The seed electrons could remain in the cluster from, e.g., past active galactic nucleus activity. In combination with the magnetic field amplification in the core, these electrons then produce diffuse radio synchrotron emission that is coincident with the region bounded by the sloshing cold fronts, as indeed observed in X-rays and the radio. The result holds for different initial spatial distributions of pre-existing relativistic electrons. The power and the steep spectral index ({alpha} Almost-Equal-To 1-2) of the resulting radio emission are consistent with observations of mini-halos, though the theoretical uncertainties of the acceleration mechanisms are high. We also produce simulated maps of inverse-Compton hard X-ray emission from the same population of relativistic electrons.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Simulation study of ion two-stream instability in the auroral acceleration region

Particle in cell plasma simulation technique has been used to study the effect of the ion two-stream instability on hydrogen and oxygen distributions at small relative drifts. Whether heating due to parallel modes which are unstable at low drifts might be sufficient to quench oblique modes which are unstable at higher drifts is investigated. It is found that this is not the case and that the oblique modes contribute significantly to heating.

Gray, Perry C.↗

SciDAC Advances in Beam Dynamics Simulation: From Light Sources to Colliders

In this paper, we report on progress that has been made in beam dynamics simulation, from light sources to colliders, during the first year of the SciDAC-2 accelerator project 'Community Petascale Project for Accelerator Science and Simulation (ComPASS).' Several parallel computational tools for beam dynamics simulation are described. Also presented are number of applications in current and future accelerator facilities (e.g., LCLS, RHIC, Tevatron, LHC, and ELIC). Particle accelerators are some of most important tools of scientific discovery. They are widely used in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and other basic and applied sciences to study the interaction of elementary particles, to probe the internal structure of matter, and to generate high-brightness radiation for research in materials science, chemistry, biology, and other fields. Modern accelerators are complex and expensive devices that may be several kilometers long and may consist of thousands of beamline elements. An accelerator may transport trillions of charged particles that interact electromagnetically among themselves, that interact with fields produced by the accelerator components, and that interact with beam-induced fields. Large-scale beam dynamics simulations on massively parallel computers can help provide understanding of these complex physical phenomena, help minimize design cost, and help optimize machine operation. In this paper, we report on beam dynamics simulations in a variety of accelerators ranging from next generation light sources to high-energy ring colliders that have been studied during the first year of the SciDAC-2 accelerator project.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Electron Acceleration during Macroscale Magnetic Reconnection

Here, the first self-consistent simulations of electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a macroscale system are presented. Consistent with solar flare observations, the spectra of energetic electrons take the form of power laws that extend more than two decades in energy. The drive mechanism for these nonthermal electrons is Fermi reflection in growing and merging magnetic flux ropes. A strong guide field suppresses the production of nonthermal electrons by weakening the Fermi drive mechanism. For a weak guide field the total energy content of nonthermal electrons dominates that of the hot thermal electrons even though their number density remains small. Our results are benchmarked with the hard x-ray, radio, and extreme ultraviolet observations of the X8.2-class solar flare on September 10, 2017.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation and Emission from Relativistic Jets and Supernova Remnants

We performed numerical simulations of particle acceleration, magnetic field generation, and emission from shocks in order to understand the observed emission from relativistic jets and supernova remnants. The investigation involves the study of collisionless shocks, where the Weibel instability is responsible for particle acceleration as well as magnetic field generation. A 3-D relativistic particle-in-cell (RPIC) code has been used to investigate the shock processes in electron-positron plasmas. The evolution of theWeibe1 instability and its associated magnetic field generation and particle acceleration are studied with two different jet velocities (0 = 2,5 - slow, fast) corresponding to either outflows in supernova remnants or relativistic jets, such as those found in AGNs and microquasars. Slow jets have intrinsically different structures in both the generated magnetic fields and the accelerated particle spectrum. In particular, the jet head has a very weak magnetic field and the ambient electrons are strongly accelerated and dragged by the jet particles. The simulation results exhibit jitter radiation from inhomogeneous magnetic fields, generated by the Weibel instability, which has different spectral properties than standard synchrotron emission in a homogeneous magnetic field.

Nishikawa, K.-I.↗

DIRAQ: scalable in situ data- and resource-aware indexing for optimized query performance

Scientific data analytics in high-performance computing environments has been evolving along with the advancement of computing capabilities. With the onset of exascale computing, the increasing gap between compute performance and I/O bandwidth has rendered the traditional post-simulation processing a tedious process. Despite the challenges due to increased data production, there exists an opportunity to benefit from "cheap" computing power to perform query-driven exploration and visualization during simulation time. To accelerate such analyses, applications traditionally augment, post-simulation, raw data with large indexes, which are then repeatedly utilized for data exploration. However, the generation of current state-of-the-art indexes involves a compute- and memory-intensive processing, thus rendering them inapplicable in an in situ context. In this paper we propose DIRAQ, a parallel in situ, in network data encoding and reorganization technique that enables the transformation of simulation output into a query-efficient form, with negligible runtime overhead to the simulation run. DIRAQ's effective core-local, precision-based encoding approach incorporates an embedded compressed index that is 3---6 $$\times $$ ? smaller than current state-of-the-art indexing schemes. Its data-aware index adjustmentation improves performance of group-level index layout creation by up to 35 % and reduces the size of the generated index by up to 27 %. Moreover, DIRAQ's in network index merging strategy enables the creation of aggregated indexes that speed up spatial-context query responses by up to $$10\times $$ 10 ? versus alternative techniques. DIRAQ's topology-, data-, and memory-aware aggregation strategy results in efficient I/O and yields overall end-to-end encoding and I/O time that is less than that required to write the raw data with MPI collective I/O.

Computer Science↗

Acceleration of non-relativistic electrons at a dielectric grating structure: Status report

We report on an experiment aiming at a proof-of-concept of a non-relativistic direct laser accelerator. The system is based on a fused-silica transmission grating illuminated by Titanium:sapphire femtosecond pulses in order to excite evanescent spatial modes, which propagate synchronously with 28 keV electrons originating from an electron column of a scanning electron microscope. The grating period is 750 nm, and we use the third spatial harmonic to continuously accelerate the non-relativistic electrons. With a laser pulse energy of about 150 nJ numerical simulations show expected accelerating gradients of up to 60 MeV/m and an energy gain of around 300 eV at a distance of 100 nm away from the grating surface. The current status of the experiment is reported.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Extreme Energetic Particle Events By Superflare-Associated CMES From Solar-Like Stars

Discovery of frequent superflares on active cool stars opened a new avenue in understanding the properties of eruptive events and their impact on exoplanetary environments. Solar data suggest that coronal mass ejections (CMEs) should be associated with superflares on active solar-like planet hosts and produce solar/stellar energetic particle (SEP/StEP) events. Here, we apply the 2D Particle Acceleration and Transport in the Heliosphere model to simulate the SEPs accelerated via CME-driven shocks from the Sun and young solar-like stars. We derive the scaling of SEP fluence and hardness of energy spectra with CME speed and associated flare energy. These results have crucial implications for the prebiotic chemistry and expected atmospheric biosignatures from young rocky exoplanets as well as the chemistry and isotopic composition of circumstellar disks around infant solar-like stars.

Junxiang Hu↗