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At least 469 records · Page 26

Scale setting of SU⁡(𝑁) Yang–Mills theory, topology and large-𝑁 volume independence

We set the scale of SU⁡(𝑁) Yang-Mills theories for 𝑁 =3, 5, 8 and in the large-𝑁 limit via gradient flow, as a first step towards the computation of the large-𝑁 Λ-parameter using step scaling. We adopt twisted boundary conditions to achieve large-𝑁 volume reduction and the Parallel Tempering on Boundary Conditions algorithm to tame topological freezing. This setup allows accurate determinations of the gradient-flow scales down to lattice spacings as fine as ∼0.025 fm for all the explored values of 𝑁, a regime that has never been reached with ergodic algorithms. Moreover, we are able to precisely estimate the finite-size systematics related to topological freezing, and to show the suppression of finite-volume effects expected by virtue of large-𝑁 twisted volume reduction.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

3-regular three-XORSAT planted solutions benchmark of classical and quantum heuristic optimizers

With current semiconductor technology reaching its physical limits, special-purpose hardware has emerged as an option to tackle specific computing-intensive challenges. Optimization in the form of solving quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problems, or equivalently Ising spin glasses, has been the focus of several new dedicated hardware platforms. These platforms come in many different flavors, from highly-efficient hardware implementations on digital-logic of established algorithms to proposals of analog hardware implementing new algorithms. In this work, we use a mapping of a specific class of linear equations whose solutions can be found efficiently, to a hard constraint satisfaction problem (three-regular three-XORSAT, or an Ising spin glass) with a 'golf-course' shaped energy landscape, to benchmark several of these different approaches. We perform a scaling and prefactor analysis of the performance of Fujitsu's digital annealer unit (DAU), the D-Wave advantage quantum annealer, a virtual MemComputing machine, Toshiba's simulated bifurcation machine (SBM), the SATonGPU algorithm from Bernaschi et al, and our implementation of parallel tempering. We identify the SATonGPU and DAU as currently having the smallest scaling exponent for this benchmark, with SATonGPU having a small scaling advantage and in addition having by far the smallest prefactor thanks to its use of massive parallelism. Furthermore, our work provides an objective assessment and a snapshot of the promise and limitations of dedicated optimization hardware relative to a particular class of optimization problems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Frog: Asynchronous Graph Processing on GPU with Hybrid Coloring Model

GPUs have been increasingly used to accelerate graph processing for complicated computational problems regarding graph theory. Many parallel graph algorithms adopt the asynchronous computing model to accelerate the iterative convergence. Unfortunately, the consistent asynchronous computing requires locking or atomic operations, leading to significant penalties/overheads when implemented on GPUs. As such, coloring algorithm is adopted to separate the vertices with potential updating conflicts, guaranteeing the consistency/correctness of the parallel processing. Common coloring algorithms, however, may suffer from low parallelism because of a large number of colors generally required for processing a large-scale graph with billions of vertices. We propose a light-weight asynchronous processing framework called Frog with a preprocessing/hybrid coloring model. The fundamental idea is based on Pareto principle (or 80-20 rule) about coloring algorithms as we observed through masses of realworld graph coloring cases. We find that a majority of vertices (about 80%) are colored with only a few colors, such that they can be read and updated in a very high degree of parallelism without violating the sequential consistency. Accordingly, our solution separates the processing of the vertices based on the distribution of colors. In this work, we mainly answer three questions: (1) how to partition the vertices in a sparse graph with maximized parallelism, (2) how to process large-scale graphs that cannot fit into GPU memory, and (3) how to reduce the overhead of data transfers on PCIe while processing each partition. Here, we conduct experiments on real-world data (Amazon, DBLP, YouTube, RoadNet-CA, WikiTalk and Twitter) to evaluate our approach and make comparisons with well-known non-preprocessed (such as Totem, Medusa, MapGraph and Gunrock) and preprocessed (Cusha) approaches, by testing four classical algorithms (BFS, PageRank, SSSP and CC). On all the tested applications and datasets, Frog is able to significantly outperform existing GPU-based graph processing systems except Gunrock and MapGraph. MapGraph gets better performance than Frog when running BFS on RoadNet-CA. The comparison between Gunrock and Frog is inconclusive. Frog can outperform Gunrock more than 1.04X when running PageRank and SSSP, while the advantage of Frog is not obvious when running BFS and CC on some datasets especially for RoadNet-CA.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

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↗

Massively Parallel Simulation of Large Molecular Systems with Long-Range Interactions Final Report CRADA No. TC-0297-92-B

The purpose of this CRADA project is to develop and implement a large-scale molecular dynamics model for floppy molecules with long-ranged interaction on massively parallel supercomputers and accelerate the use of parallel supercomputers within the biomolecular and polymer industries. Within three years of the project, the partners will: create a new molecular dynamics computer simulation code (LAMMPS) from existing codes at SAndia National Laboratory-Albuquerque (SNL-A) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and new algorithms and code developed during the CRADA project; design the resulting code to optimally use the emerging generation of massively parallel supercomputers; and apply the code to the solution of biomolecular problem suggested by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and polymer problems suggested by DuPont.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Accelerating and Parallelizing Lagrangian Simulations of Mixing-Limited Reactive Transport

Recent advances in random walk particle tracking have enabled direct simulation of mixing and reactions by allowing the particles to interact with each other using a multipoint mass transfer scheme. The mass transfer scheme allows separation of mixing and spreading processes, among other advantages, but it is computationally expensive because its speed depends on the number of interacting particle pairs. This note explores methods for relieving the computational bottleneck caused by the mass transfer step, and we use these algorithms to develop a new parallel, interacting particle model. The new model is a combination of a sparse search algorithm and a novel domain decomposition scheme, both of which offer significant speedup relative to the reference case—even when they are executed serially. We combine the strengths of these methods to create a parallel particle scheme that is highly accurate and efficient with run times that scale as 1/P for a fixed number of particles, where P is the number of computational cores (equivalently, subdomains, in this work) being used. Here, the new parallel model is a significant advance because it enables efficient simulation of large particle ensembles that are needed for environmental simulations and also because it can naturally pair with parallel geochemical solvers to create a practical Lagrangian tool for simulating mixing and reactions in complex chemical systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Onset of a Large Ejective Solar Eruption from a Typical Coronal-jet-base Field Configuration

Utilizing multiwavelength observations and magnetic field data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory ( SDO )/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), SDO /Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite ( GOES ), and RHESSI , we investigate a large-scale ejective solar eruption of 2014 December 18 from active region NOAA 12241. This event produced a distinctive “three-ribbon” flare, having two parallel ribbons corresponding to the ribbons of a standard two-ribbon flare, and a larger-scale third quasi-circular ribbon offset from the other two. There are two components to this eruptive event. First, a flux rope forms above a strong-field polarity inversion line and erupts and grows as the parallel ribbons turn on, grow, and spread apart from that polarity inversion line; this evolution is consistent with the mechanism of tether-cutting reconnection for eruptions. Second, the eruption of the arcade that has the erupting flux rope in its core undergoes magnetic reconnection at the null point of a fan dome that envelops the erupting arcade, resulting in formation of the quasi-circular ribbon; this is consistent with the breakout reconnection mechanism for eruptions. We find that the parallel ribbons begin well before (∼12 minutes) the onset of the circular ribbon, indicating that tether-cutting reconnection (or a non-ideal MHD instability) initiated this event, rather than breakout reconnection. The overall setup for this large-scale eruption (diameter of the circular ribbon ∼10{sup 5} km) is analogous to that of coronal jets (base size ∼10{sup 4} km), many of which, according to recent findings, result from eruptions of small-scale “minifilaments.” Thus these findings confirm that eruptions of sheared-core magnetic arcades seated in fan–spine null-point magnetic topology happen on a wide range of size scales on the Sun.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Practical Framework for Simulating Time-Resolved Spectroscopy Based on a Real-Time Dyson Expansion

Time-resolved spectroscopy is a powerful tool for probing electron dynamics in molecules and solids, revealing transient phenomena on subfemtosecond time scales. The interpretation of experimental results is often enhanced by parallel numerical studies, which can provide insight and validation for experimental hypotheses. However, developing a theoretical framework for simulating time-resolved spectra remains a significant challenge. The most suitable approach involves the many-body nonequilibrium Green's function formalism, which accounts for crucial dynamical many-body correlations during time evolution. While these dynamical correlations are essential for observing emergent behavior in time-resolved spectra, they also render the formalism prohibitively expensive for large-scale simulations. Substantial effort has been devoted to reducing this computational cost─through approximations and numerical techniques─while preserving the key dynamical correlations. The ultimate goal is to enable first-principles simulations of time-dependent systems ranging from small molecules to large, periodic, multidimensional solids. Here, in this perspective, we outline key challenges in developing practical simulations for time-resolved spectroscopy, with a particular focus on Green's function methodologies. We highlight a recent advancement toward a scalable framework: the real-time Dyson expansion (RT-DE) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 2024, 133, 226902]. We introduce the theoretical foundation of RT-DE and discuss strategies for improving scalability, which have already enabled simulations of system sizes beyond the reach of previous fully dynamical approaches. We conclude with an outlook on future directions for extending RT-DE to first-principles studies of dynamically correlated, nonequilibrium systems.

Reeves, Cian C. [Univ. of California, Santa Barbar↗

PREEMPT: Scalable Epidemic Interventions Using Submodular Optimization on Multi-GPU Systems

Preventing and slowing the spread of epidemics is achieved through techniques such as vaccination and social distancing. Given practical limitations on the number of vaccines and cost of administration, optimization becomes a necessity. Previous approaches using mathematical programming methods have shown to be effective but are limited by computational costs. In this work, we make several contributions: First, we present a new approach for intervention via maximizing the influence of vaccinated nodes on the network. We call this method \preempt. Next, we prove submodular properties associated with the objective function of our method so that it aids in construction of an efficient greedy approximation strategy. Consequently, we present a new parallel algorithm based on greedy hill climbing for \preempt, and present an efficient parallel implementation for distributed CPU-GPU heterogeneous platforms. Our results demonstrate that \preempt{} is able to achieve a significant reduction (up to 6.75$\times$) in the percentage of people infected on a city-scale network. We also show strong scaling results of \preempt{} on 128 nodes of the Summit supercomputer. Our parallel implementation is able to significantly reduce time to solution, from hours to minutes on large networks. This work represents a first-of-its-kind effort in parallelizing greedy hill climbing and applying it toward devising effective interventions for epidemics.

Minutoli, Marco↗

Development of a half-meter scale Traveling-Wave (TW) SRF cavity

Traveling-wave technology can push the accelerator field gradient of niobium SRF cavity to 70MV/m or higher beyond the fundamental limit of 50~60MV/m in Standing-Wave regime. The 1st demonstration of TW resonance excitation in a proof-of-principle 3-cell SRF cavity in 2K liquid helium was successfully carried out at Fermilab in collaboration with Euclid Techlabs. In parallel with that, the RF design process of 0.5~1 meter scale TW cavity was begun at Fermilab for advancing TW technologies necessary more for future accelerator-scale one. Considering the physical dimensions of existing SRF facilities (for fabrication, processing, and cryogenic testing) and the lessons learned from the 3-cell, Fermilab has proposed a preliminary RF design of a half-meter scale TW SRF cavity. It consists of a 7-cell structure and a power feedback waveguide (WG) loop with new RF configurations to control TW resonance. Here we report a preliminary RF design, development plans, and activities.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Comparative Analysis of Radial and Random Microstructures of Mesophase Pitch Carbon Fibers

Carbon fibers (CF) with radial and random microstructures are produced. Here, these fibers are subjected to identical treatment before being mechanically tested and analyzed with Weibull analysis, with the results revealing a statistically significant difference in tensile strengths of 2.23 GPa for random CF and 1.69 GPa for radial CF. Raman mapping probed the crystalline structure perpendicular to the fiber axis and found a uniform structure, while wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction showed a significant difference of 7.5 Å in the crystallites’ basal lengths parallel to the fiber. Small‐angle X‐ray scattering is completed parallel to the fiber for the first time. A cross‐section Guinier plot of the 1D azimuthal integration is generated assuming symmetric scattering, and the parallel scatterers are found to have a similar length scale to the crystallite's length, validating the testing method. Finally, transmission electron microscopy is completed on the longitudinal cross‐section of each fiber. The radial carbon fiber is found to have a core–shell structure, as evidenced further by fast Fourier transform images. Through all studies, it is shown that the structure developed during mesophase pitch spinning altered the microstructure, thus impacting the mechanical properties, confirming a direct relationship between processing, structure, and properties.

Scherschel, Alexander [Univ. of Virginia, Charlott↗

Calibration of elastoplastic constitutive model parameters from full-field data with automatic differentiation-based sensitivities

Here, we present a framework for calibration of parameters in elastoplastic constitutive models that is based on the use of automatic differentiation (AD). The model calibration problem is posed as a partial differential equation-constrained optimization problem where a finite element (FE) model of the coupled equilibrium equation and constitutive model evolution equations serves as the constraint. The objective function quantifies the mismatch between the displacement predicted by the FE model and full-field digital image correlation data, and the optimization problem is solved using gradient-based optimization algorithms. Forward and adjoint sensitivities are used to compute the gradient at considerably less cost than its calculation from finite difference approximations. Through the use of AD, we need only to write the constraints in terms of AD objects, where all of the derivatives required for the forward and inverse problems are obtained by appropriately seeding and evaluating these quantities. We present three numerical examples that verify the correctness of the gradient, demonstrate the AD approach's parallel computation capabilities via application to a large-scale FE model, and highlight the formulation's ease of extensibility to other classes of constitutive models.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Flattening of the tokamak current profile by a fast magnetic reconnection with implications for the solar corona

During tokamak disruptions, the profile of the net parallel current is observed to flatten on a time scale that is so fast that it must be due to a fast magnetic reconnection. After a fast magnetic reconnection has broken magnetic surfaces, a single magnetic field line covers an entire volume and not just a magnetic surface. The current profile, given by K ≡ μ 0 j | | / B , relaxes to a constant within that volume by Alfven waves propagating along the chaotic magnetic field lines. The time scale for this relaxation determines the commonly observed disruption phenomena of a current spike and a sudden drop in the plasma internal inductance. An efficient method for studying this relaxation is derived, which allows a better understanding of the information encoded in the current spike and the associated sudden drop in the plasma internal inductance. Implications for coronal heating are also discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Similarity for downscaled kinetic simulations of electrostatic plasmas: Reconciling the large system size with small Debye length

A simple similarity has been proposed for kinetic (e.g., particle-in-cell) simulations of plasma transport that can effectively address the long-standing challenge of reconciling the tiny Debye length with the vast system size. This applies to both transport in unmagnetized plasma and parallel transport in magnetized plasmas, where the characteristics length scales are given by the Debye length, collisional mean free paths, and the system or gradient lengths. The controlled scaled variables are the configuration space, x/L, and an artificial Coulomb Logarithm, L ln Λ, for collisions, while the scaled time, t/L, and electric field, LE, are automatic outcomes. The similarity properties are examined, demonstrating that the macroscopic transport physics is preserved through a similarity transformation while keeping the microscopic physics at its original scale of Debye length. To showcase the utility of this approach, two examples of 1D plasma transport problems were simulated using the VPIC code: the plasma thermal quench in tokamaks [Li et al., Nuclear Fusion 63, 066030 (2023)] and the plasma sheath in the high-recycling regime [Li et al., Physics of Plasmas 30, 063505 (2023)].

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

New scaling and nuclear structure aspects in heavy-ion fusion reactions

Three new behaviors have been found in comparisons of fusion cross sections for different collision systems. root (1) Replacing the energy E with a scaling one, E scal = (E-V g )/($\sqrt{2}$W g ), is successful for washing out the Coulomb interaction in the spectra of fusion cross sections, where V g and W g are barrier height and width of the single-Gaussian barrier distribution model. (2) In a representation of σE vs the scaling energy, E scal , all data sets display in parallel. Here, the ratio for sigma E from any two fusion systems over the whole range is a constant value. That behavior is also studied in another representation, in which the data sets display as parallel horizontal lines for any heavy-ion fusion system. (3) The constant ratio value is the ratio of parameter products, $R^2_gW_g$, of the two systems; where R g is the barrier radius obtained in the single-Gaussian barrier distribution model. Moreover, when comparing neighboring collision systems at the same E scal , the ratio of sigma is near a constant value within a few percent over the whole range. Thus a quantitative comparison for the fusion enhancement for neighboring systems is developed. The present finding could be beneficial for predicting unmeasured fusion cross sections.

Jiang, C. L. [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), A↗

Oineus v1.0

A library for multi-threaded computation of persistence diagrams. The algorithm for computing persistence diagrams in a lock-free manner was published in the 'Towards Lock-free Persistent Homology' (D. Morozov, A. Nigmetov, Brief Announcement: SPAA 2020); it scales better than the only other shared-memory parallel implementation of persistent homology computation PHAT. Library includes python bindings to compute persistence diagrams and their vectorizations for lower-star filtrations on grid data. It is intended to be used by scientists working on Topological Data Analysis and its applications in different areas.

Nigmetov, Arnur↗

Bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cells made by glancing angle deposition

A method of making a bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cell by glancing angle deposition. As the disclosed method relies on a trajectory of incident vapor flux that is not parallel to the substrate normal, micro and nano-scale columnar structures of thin films can be grown on the substrate. There is also disclosed a method of forming a donor-acceptor heterojunction by depositing at least one additional organic material over the columnar structures.

Forrest, Stephen R.↗

Role of local stresses on co-zone twin-twin junction formation in HCP magnesium

Twin-twin interactions control the formation of twin-twin junctions (TTJ) in hexagonal metals when multiple twin variants are activated in a grain. In this work, we employ a combination of two computational techniques, a 3D full-field crystal plasticity model (CP) and large-scale molecular dynamics (MD), to study the TTJ formation associated with two non-parallel {101¯2} twins in Mg. The local intra-granular stresses generated by discrete twins are computed using a spatially resolved CP model. Atomic-scale knowledge regarding formation processes and local stresses is revealed by MD. The combined analyses suggest that the twin junction forms by the migration of the boundaries of both, the impinging and impinged twin, taking place in the immediate vicinity of the contact point. It is further shown that local stress fields that are generated after initial contact promote thickening of the impinging twin, and may facilitate nucleation of a new twin on the opposite boundary of the recipient twin. In conclusion, calculations of the strain energies suggest that formation of the co-zone twin-twin junction is energetically favorable but detwinning of the TTJ upon load reversal or under cyclic loading is not.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗