Parallel Implementation of the Topaz Opacity Code: Issues in Load-Balancing.

Sonnad, V. ; Iglesias, C. A.

Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee

关键词: Opacity;    Astrophysics;    Implementation;    Atomic physics;    Computers;   

RP-ID  :  DE2009945509

学科分类：工程和技术（综合）

美国|英语

来源: National Technical Reports Library

【 摘 要 】

The TOPAZ opacity code explicitly includes configuration term structure in the calculation of bound-bound radiative transitions. This approach involves myriad spectral lines and requires the large computational capabilities of parallel processing computers. It is important, however, to make use of these resources efficiently. For example, an increase in the number of processors should yield a comparable reduction in computational time. This proportional 'speedup' indicates that very large problems can be addressed with massively parallel computers. Opacity codes can readily take advantage of parallel architecture since many intermediate calculations are independent. On the other hand, since the different tasks entail significantly disparate computational effort, load-balancing issues emerge so that parallel efficiency does not occur naturally. Several schemes to distribute the labor among processors are discussed.