911 research outputs found
A portable platform for accelerated PIC codes and its application to GPUs using OpenACC
We present a portable platform, called PIC_ENGINE, for accelerating
Particle-In-Cell (PIC) codes on heterogeneous many-core architectures such as
Graphic Processing Units (GPUs). The aim of this development is efficient
simulations on future exascale systems by allowing different parallelization
strategies depending on the application problem and the specific architecture.
To this end, this platform contains the basic steps of the PIC algorithm and
has been designed as a test bed for different algorithmic options and data
structures. Among the architectures that this engine can explore, particular
attention is given here to systems equipped with GPUs. The study demonstrates
that our portable PIC implementation based on the OpenACC programming model can
achieve performance closely matching theoretical predictions. Using the Cray
XC30 system, Piz Daint, at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS), we
show that PIC_ENGINE running on an NVIDIA Kepler K20X GPU can outperform the
one on an Intel Sandybridge 8-core CPU by a factor of 3.4
The in-plane electrodynamics of the superconductivity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d: energy scales and spectral weight distribution
The in-plane infrared and visible (3 meV-3 eV) reflectivity of
Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Bi-2212) thin films is measured between 300 K and 10 K for
different doping levels with unprecedented accuracy. The optical conductivity
is derived through an accurate fitting procedure. We study the transfer of
spectral weight from finite energy into the superfluid as the system becomes
superconducting. In the over-doped regime, the superfluid develops at the
expense of states lying below 60 meV, a conventional energy of the order of a
few times the superconducting gap. In the underdoped regime, spectral weight is
removed from up to 2 eV, far beyond any conventional scale. The intraband
spectral weight change between the normal and superconducting state, if
analyzed in terms of a change of kinetic energy is ~1 meV. Compared to the
condensation energy, this figure addresses the issue of a kinetic energy driven
mechanism.Comment: 13 pages with 9 figures include
Gyrokinetic simulations of microturbulence in tokamak plasmas presenting an electron internal transport barrier, and development of a global version of the GENE code
The abstract goes here
Nonlinear gyrokinetic PIC simulations in stellarators with the code EUTERPE
In this work, the first nonlinear particle-in-cell simulations carried out in
a stellarator with the global gyrokinetic code EUTERPE using realistic plasma
parameters are reported. Several studies are conducted with the aim of enabling
reliable nonlinear simulations in stellarators with this code. First, EUTERPE
is benchmarked against ORB5 in both linear and nonlinear settings in a tokamak
configuration. Next, the use of noise control and stabilization tools, a
Krook-type collision operator, markers weight smoothing and heating sources is
investigated. It is studied in detail how these tools influence the linear
growth rate of instabilities in both tokamak and stellarator geometries and
their influence on the linear zonal flow evolution in a stellarator. Then, it
is studied how these tools allow improving the quality of the results in a set
of nonlinear simulations of electrostatic turbulence in a stellarator
configuration.
Finally, these tools are applied to a W7-X magnetic configuration using
experimental plasma parameters.Comment: 24 pages, 19 figure
ORB5: a global electromagnetic gyrokinetic code using the PIC approach in toroidal geometry
This paper presents the current state of the global gyrokinetic code ORB5 as
an update of the previous reference [Jolliet et al., Comp. Phys. Commun. 177
409 (2007)]. The ORB5 code solves the electromagnetic Vlasov-Maxwell system of
equations using a PIC scheme and also includes collisions and strong flows. The
code assumes multiple gyrokinetic ion species at all wavelengths for the
polarization density and drift-kinetic electrons. Variants of the physical
model can be selected for electrons such as assuming an adiabatic response or a
``hybrid'' model in which passing electrons are assumed adiabatic and trapped
electrons are drift-kinetic. A Fourier filter as well as various control
variates and noise reduction techniques enable simulations with good
signal-to-noise ratios at a limited numerical cost. They are completed with
different momentum and zonal flow-conserving heat sources allowing for
temperature-gradient and flux-driven simulations. The code, which runs on both
CPUs and GPUs, is well benchmarked against other similar codes and analytical
predictions, and shows good scalability up to thousands of nodes
Radioactive decays at limits of nuclear stability
The last decades brought an impressive progress in synthesizing and studying
properties of nuclides located very far from the beta stability line. Among the
most fundamental properties of such exotic nuclides, usually established first,
is the half-life, possible radioactive decay modes, and their relative
probabilities. When approaching limits of nuclear stability, new decay modes
set in. First, beta decays become accompanied by emission of nucleons from
highly excited states of daughter nuclei. Second, when the nucleon separation
energy becomes negative, nucleons start to be emitted from the ground state.
Here, we present a review of the decay modes occurring close to the limits of
stability. The experimental methods used to produce, identify and detect new
species and their radiation are discussed. The current theoretical
understanding of these decay processes is overviewed. The theoretical
description of the most recently discovered and most complex radioactive
process - the two-proton radioactivity - is discussed in more detail.Comment: Review, 68 pages, 39 figure
PPARα transcriptionally induces AhR expression in Caco-2, but represses AhR pro-inflammatory effects
International audienceIn this work we demonstrate that Caco-2 cell treatment with WY-14643 (a potent PPARa agonist) causes an increase in AhR expression. Luciferase assays and directed mutagenesis experiments showed that induction mainly occurred at transcriptional level and involved a PPRE site located within the AhR promoter. These results were further confirmed by the use of PPARa knockout mice in which AhR induction by WY14643 was abrogated. In addition to CYP1 regulation, AhR has been described as being involved in inflammation , so we also studied the effect of AhR regulation by PPARa on the expression of some inflammation target genes. 3-Methylcho-lanthrene (a potent AhR agonist) increased the expression (mRNA) of the major inflammatory targets IL-1b and MMP9. WY-14643 co-treatment abrogated the 3-methylcholanthrene pro-inflammatory effect. Hence the anti-inflammatory effect of PPARa overrides the pro-inflammatory effect of AhR
Remote sensing and geographic information systems: charting Sin Nombre virus infections in deer mice.
We tested environmental data from remote sensing and geographic information system maps as indicators of Sin Nombre virus (SNV) infections in deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) populations in the Walker River Basin, Nevada and California. We determined by serologic testing the presence of SNV infections in deer mice from 144 field sites. We used remote sensing and geographic information systems data to characterize the vegetation type and density, elevation, slope, and hydrologic features of each site. The data retroactively predicted infection status of deer mice with up to 80% accuracy. If models of SNV temporal dynamics can be integrated with baseline spatial models, human risk for infection may be assessed with reasonable accuracy
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