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Access and visualization using clusters and other parallel computers

JPL's Parallel Applications Technologies Group has been exploring the issues of data access and visualization of very large data sets over the past 10 years. this work has used a number of types of parallel computers, and today includes the use of commodity clusters. This talk will highlight some of the applications and tools we have developed, including how they use parallel computing resources, and specifically how we are using modern clusters.

parallel computers clusters

Efficient Implementation for Unitary Coupled Cluster State Preparation for Near-Term Quantum Computers

Unitary coupled cluster theory (UCC) is a common wave function ansatz for quantum simulation of molecular electronic structure using the variational quantum eigenvalue solver (VQE). Even for small molecules using a double-ζ basis, the number of variational parameters required to minimize the electronic energy (i.e., optimize the circuit) is large and beyond the reach of current quantum computers. For example, a circuit simulating C2 using the UCCSD ansatz and the cc-pVDZ basis set with frozen-core will require over 10,000 variational parameters and a Hilbert space of over 10^(8) determinants. To make progress on simulating such molecular systems on near-term quantum computers, we explore how much of the optimization can be approximately prepared with classical simulation while reducing the number of optimization steps performed on a quantum device. Recently, Chen, Cheng, and Freericks [J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2021, 17, 841-847] presented an algorithm for the factorized form of the UCC ansatz that allows for efficient UCC optimizations on classical hardware. We flip the algorithm around and use it to prepare approximate quantum circuits for systems that require a large number of qubits to represent. We will present results from our implementation and discuss strategies for incorporating this implementation for algorithms involving near-term quantum computers.

Quantum Computing

Efficient Implementation for Unitary Coupled Cluster State Preparation for Near-Term Quantum Computers

Unitary coupled cluster theory (UCC) is a common wave function ansatz for quantum simulation of molecular electronic structure using the variational quantum eigenvalue solver (VQE). Even for small molecules using a double-ζ basis, the number of variational parameters required to minimize the electronic energy (i.e., optimize the circuit) is large and beyond the reach of current quantum computers. For example, a circuit simulating C2 using the UCCSD ansatz and the cc-pVDZ basis set with frozen-core will require over 10,000 variational parameters and a Hilbert space of over 10^(8) determinants. To make progress on simulating such molecular systems on near-term quantum computers, we explore how much of the optimization can be approximately prepared with classical simulation while reducing the number of optimization steps performed on a quantum device. Recently, Chen, Cheng, and Freericks [J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2021, 17, 841-847] presented an algorithm for the factorized form of the UCC ansatz that allows for efficient UCC optimizations on classical hardware. We flip the algorithm around and use it to prepare approximate quantum circuits for systems that require a large number of qubits to represent. We will present results from our implementation and discuss strategies for incorporating this implementation for algorithms involving near-term quantum computers.

Quantum Computing

Efficient Implementation for Unitary Coupled Cluster State Preparation for Near-Term Quantum Computers

Unitary coupled cluster theory (UCC) is a common wave function ansatz for quantum simulation of molecular electronic structure using the variational quantum eigenvalue solver (VQE). Even for small molecules using a double-ζ basis, the number of variational parameters required to minimize the electronic energy (i.e., optimize the circuit) is large and beyond the reach of current quantum computers. For example, a circuit simulating C2 using the UCCSD ansatz and the cc-pVDZ basis set with frozen-core will require over 10,000 variational parameters and a Hilbert space of over 10^8 determinants. To make progress on simulating such molecular systems on near-term quantum computers, we explore how much of the optimization can be approximately prepared with classical simulation while reducing the number of optimization steps performed on a quantum device. Recently, Chen, Cheng, and Freericks [J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2021, 17, 841-847] presented an algorithm for the factorized form of the UCC ansatz that allows for efficient UCC optimizations on classical hardware. We flip the algorithm around and use it to prepare approximate quantum circuits for systems that require a large number of qubits to represent. We will present results from our implementation and discuss strategies for incorporating this implementation for algorithms involving near-term quantum computers.

J Wayne Mullinax

Access and visualization using clusters and other parallel computers

JPL's Parallel Applications Technologies Group has been exploring the issues of data access and visualization of very large data sets over the past 10 or so years. this work has used a number of types of parallel computers, and today includes the use of commodity clusters. This talk will highlight some of the applications and tools we have developed, including how they use parallel computing resources, and specifically how we are using modern clusters. Our applications focus on NASA's needs; thus our data sets are usually related to Earth and Space Science, including data delivered from instruments in space, and data produced by telescopes on the ground.

data sets

How Well Can Quantum Embedding Method Predict the Reaction Profiles for Hydrogenation of Small Li Clusters?

Quantum computing leverages the principles of quantum mechanics in novel ways to tackle complex chemistry problems that cannot be accurately addressed using traditional quantum chemistry methods. However, the high computational cost and available number of physical qubits with high fidelity limit its application to small chemical systems. This work employed a quantum-classical framework which features a quantum active space-embedding approach to perform simulations of chemical reactions that require up to 14 qubits. This framework was applied to prototypical example metal hydrogenation reactions: the coupling between hydrogen and Li 2 , Li 3 , and Li 4 clusters. Particular attention was paid to the computation of barriers and reaction energies. The predicted reaction profiles compare well with advanced classical quantum chemistry methods, demonstrating the potential of the quantum embedding algorithm to map out reaction profiles of realistic gas-phase chemical reactions to ascertain qualitative energetic trends. Additionally, the predicted potential energy curves provide a benchmark to compare against both current and future quantum embedding approaches.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Using the GeoFEST Faulted Region Simulation System

GeoFEST (the Geophysical Finite Element Simulation Tool) simulates stress evolution, fault slip and plastic/elastic processes in realistic materials, and so is suitable for earthquake cycle studies in regions such as Southern California. Many new capabilities and means of access for GeoFEST are now supported. New abilities include MPI-based cluster parallel computing using automatic PYRAMID/Parmetis-based mesh partitioning, automatic mesh generation for layered media with rectangular faults, and results visualization that is integrated with remote sensing data. The parallel GeoFEST application has been successfully run on over a half-dozen computers, including Intel Xeon clusters, Itanium II and Altix machines, and the Apple G5 cluster. It is not separately optimized for different machines, but relies on good domain partitioning for load-balance and low communication, and careful writing of the parallel diagonally preconditioned conjugate gradient solver to keep communication overhead low. Demonstrated thousand-step solutions for over a million finite elements on 64 processors require under three hours, and scaling tests show high efficiency when using more than (order of) 4000 elements per processor. The source code and documentation for GeoFEST is available at no cost from Open Channel Foundation. In addition GeoFEST may be used through a browser-based portal environment available to approved users. That environment includes semi-automated geometry creation and mesh generation tools, GeoFEST, and RIVA-based visualization tools that include the ability to generate a flyover animation showing deformations and topography. Work is in progress to support simulation of a region with several faults using 16 million elements, using a strain energy metric to adapt the mesh to faithfully represent the solution in a region of widely varying strain.

Geophyical Finite Element Simulation Tool (GeoFEST

Computing nuclear response functions with time-dependent coupled-cluster theory

We compute nuclear response functions by solving the time-dependent 𝐴-body Schrödinger equation, recording the time-dependent transition moment and extracting spectral information via Fourier transforms. The solution of the time-dependent many-body problem accounts for correlations on top of the mean field by taking advantage of a time-dependent formulation of coupled-cluster theory. As a validation, we focus on electric dipole transitions in 4 He and 16 O and compare moments of the response function distribution to the results of an equivalent static framework, finding negligible discrepancies. We investigate how proton and neutron densities evolve in time, and we see the traditional picture of soft and giant dipole resonances as collective oscillations of protons and neutrons emerging from our calculations in 16 O and 24 O. Furthermore, this method also allows us to investigate the behavior of the nucleus in the presence of a strong electric field. In that regime, the behavior of the system becomes chaotic. Qualitatively, the spectral information obtained in this limit is in line with previous time-dependent mean-field results.

Ab initio calculations

On the luminosity function, lifetimes, and origin of blue stragglers in globular clusters

We compute theoretical evolutionary tracks of blue stragglers created by mergers. Two formation scenarios are considered: mergers of primordial binaries, and stellar collisions. These two scenarios predict strikingly different luminosity functions, which are potentially distinguishable observationally. Tabulated theoretical luminosity functions and lifetimes are presented for blue stragglers formed under a variety of input conditions. We compare our results with observations of the blue straggler sequences in 47 Tucanae and M3. In the case of 47 Tuc, the luminosity function and the formation rate are compatible with the hypothesis that the blue stragglers formed through the collision of single stars. Mergers of primordial binaries are only marginally cosistent with the data, and a significant enhancement of the collision cross section by binary-single-star encounters appears to be ruled out. In the case of M3, we find that the innermost blue stragglers have a luminosity function significantly different from that of the outer stragglers, thus confirming earlier suggestions that there are two distinct populations of blue stragglers in this cluster. The inner stragglers are preferentially brighter and bluer, as would be expected if they were made by collisions, but there are so many of them that the collision rate would need to be enhanced by interactions involving wide binaries. The luminosity function of the outer stragglers is almost identical to the predictions of mergers from primordial binaries and is inconsistent with the collision hypothesis.

Bailyn, Charles D.

NAS Requirements Checklist for Job Queuing/Scheduling Software

The increasing reliability of parallel systems and clusters of computers has resulted in these systems becoming more attractive for true production workloads. Today, the primary obstacle to production use of clusters of computers is the lack of a functional and robust Job Management System for parallel applications. This document provides a checklist of NAS requirements for job queuing and scheduling in order to make most efficient use of parallel systems and clusters for parallel applications. Future requirements are also identified to assist software vendors with design planning.

Jones, James Patton

Using Signal Clustering Similarity for Detecting CAN Masquerade Attacks

The computer code assumes that time series representing the physical signals of the vehicle have been extracted from the CAN bus. The main input of the computer code is the multivariate time series representation of the signals in the CAN bus. The computer code cluster these time series using agglomerative hierarchical clustering from benign and attack datasets. Based on this, it generates probability distributions from the similarity of the obtained clusters based in each scenario---benign and attack---using the CluSim method (https://github.com/Hoosier-Clusters/clusim). Finally, it compares how a new data collection compares with the previous distribution to provide and probability score for an intrusion.

Moriano, Pablo

Mode-multiplexed photonic integrated vector dot-product core from inverse design

Photonic computing has the potential to harness the full degrees of freedom (DOFs) of the light field, including the wavelength, spatial mode, spatial location, phase quadrature, and polarization, to achieve a higher level of computing parallelism and scalability than digital electronic processors. While multiplexing using the wavelength and other DOFs can be readily integrated on silicon photonics platforms with compact footprints, conventional mode-division multiplexed (MDM) photonic designs occupy areas exceeding tens to hundreds of microns for a few spatial modes, significantly limiting their scalability. Here, we utilize inverse design to demonstrate an ultracompact photonic computing core that calculates vector dot products based on MDM coherent mixing. Our dot-product core integrates the functionalities of two-mode multiplexers and one multimode coherent mixer within a nominal footprint of 5 μm x 3 μm . We have experimentally demonstrated computing examples on the fabricated dot-product core, including complex number multiplication and motion estimation using optical flow. The compact dot-product core design enables large-scale on-chip integration in a parallel photonic computing primitive cluster for high-throughput scientific computing and computer vision tasks.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING

Loci-STREAM Version 0.9

Loci-STREAM is an evolving computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software tool for simulating possibly chemically reacting, possibly unsteady flows in diverse settings, including rocket engines, turbomachines, oil refineries, etc. Loci-STREAM implements a pressure- based flow-solving algorithm that utilizes unstructured grids. (The benefit of low memory usage by pressure-based algorithms is well recognized by experts in the field.) The algorithm is robust for flows at all speeds from zero to hypersonic. The flexibility of arbitrary polyhedral grids enables accurate, efficient simulation of flows in complex geometries, including those of plume-impingement problems. The present version - Loci-STREAM version 0.9 - includes an interface with the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc) library for access to enhanced linear-equation-solving programs therein that accelerate convergence toward a solution. The name "Loci" reflects the creation of this software within the Loci computational framework, which was developed at Mississippi State University for the primary purpose of simplifying the writing of complex multidisciplinary application programs to run in distributed-memory computing environments including clusters of personal computers. Loci has been designed to relieve application programmers of the details of programming for distributed-memory computers.

Wright, Jeffrey

Balanced-Load Real-Time Multiprocessor System

Modularity and parallelism provide tolerance to faults and high throughput capacity. System, called MAX, is network of interconnected computers. MAX cluster consists of group of modules - each semiautonomous computer. Modules connected to each other and to other clusters by global bus and circuit-switched communication mesh.

Rasmussen, Robert D.

Parallel Wavefront Analysis for a 4D Interferometer

This software provides a programming interface for automating data collection with a PhaseCam interferometer from 4D Technology, and distributing the image-processing algorithm across a cluster of general-purpose computers. Multiple instances of 4Sight (4D Technology s proprietary software) run on a networked cluster of computers. Each connects to a single server (the controller) and waits for instructions. The controller directs the interferometer to several images, then assigns each image to a different computer for processing. When the image processing is finished, the server directs one of the computers to collate and combine the processed images, saving the resulting measurement in a file on a disk. The available software captures approximately 100 images and analyzes them immediately. This software separates the capture and analysis processes, so that analysis can be done at a different time and faster by running the algorithm in parallel across several processors. The PhaseCam family of interferometers can measure an optical system in milliseconds, but it takes many seconds to process the data so that it is usable. In characterizing an adaptive optics system, like the next generation of astronomical observatories, thousands of measurements are required, and the processing time quickly becomes excessive. A programming interface distributes data processing for a PhaseCam interferometer across a Windows computing cluster. A scriptable controller program coordinates data acquisition from the interferometer, storage on networked hard disks, and parallel processing. Idle time of the interferometer is minimized. This architecture is implemented in Python and JavaScript, and may be altered to fit a customer s needs.

Rao, Shanti R.

The InSAR Scientific Computing Environment 3.0: A Flexible Framework for NISAR Operational and User-Led Science Processing

The InSAR Scientific Computing Environment (ISCE) was first developed under the NASA Advanced Information Systems Technology as a flexible, extensible object-oriented framework for Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) processing. The ISCE framework uses Python 3 at the workflow level, controlling modules of compiled code for functional processing, and managing inputs, outputs, and other flow control services. The currently released version, called ISCE 2.1, is distributed to the research community through the Western North America InSAR Consortium under a research license. The ISCE team is working on the next generation of the code in order to prepare for the NASAISRO SAR (NISAR) mission operational processing. Innovations in this code include augmentation or conversion of the custom Python framework elements in ISCE with the Pyre framework, new workflows for interferometric and polarimetric stack processing, a more intuitive and graphically based user interface, and flow control for hybrid computing environments including CPU/GPU clusters, logging and error tracking facilities, and new more efficient computational modules that exploit graphical processor units (GPUs) when available. The ISCE 3.0 framework is designed to work in an operational environment as well as on a single user’s laptop or compute cluster, with services to discover capabilities and scale computations accordingly.

Buckley, Sean M.

Issues in ATM Support of High-Performance, Geographically Distributed Computing

This report experimentally assesses the effect of the underlying network in a cluster-based computing environment. The assessment is quantified by application-level benchmarking, process-level communication, and network file input/output. Two testbeds were considered, one small cluster of Sun workstations and another large cluster composed of 32 high-end IBM RS/6000 platforms. The clusters had Ethernet, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), Fibre Channel, and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network interface cards installed, providing the same processors and operating system for the entire suite of experiments. The primary goal of this report is to assess the suitability of an ATM-based, local-area network to support interprocess communication and remote file input/output systems for distributed computing.

Claus, Russell W.