Space Plasma Simulations with Vlasiator on LUMI

ENCCS comes together with Plasma-PEPSC CoE for the organisations of this hybrid workshop to bring together code developers, researchers, and research software engineers working on plasma science, and create an amazing opportunity for sharing innovative ideas and best practice for potential users to use the Vlasiator package and using its capabilities and assorted tools for data analysis. This workshop includes:

• running simulations at scale
• benchmarking for deploying Vlasiator on supercomputing environments
• designing a simulation setup, with notes on applicability and resources required
• Accessing the .vlsv data via Analysator
• Accessing the .vlsv data via the VisIt plugin

The theoretical description of plasma using analytic modeling tools is somewhat limited and great progress in plasma physics has been achieved using computer simulations. Indeed, advances in massively parallel simulations using high performance computing (HPC) resources have have further boosted our understanding of plasma science at an unprecedented resolutions and levels of physical fidelity. These simulations have been producing a new wealth of knowledge and enabling key applications for science, industry, and society.

Plasma simulations with Vlasiator

Vlasiator (GitHub), is the state-of-the-art hybrid-Vlasov simulation for ion-scale physics in a global magnetospheric setting. It is the only 6D hybrid-Vlasov code capable of simulating the Earth’s magnetosphere. In Vlasiator, ions are represented as velocity distribution functions, while electrons are magnetohydrodynamic fluid, enabling a self-consistent global plasma simulation that can describe multi-temperature plasmas to resolve non-MHD processes that currently cannot be self-consistently described by the existing global space weather simulations. The novelty is that by modelling ions as velocity distribution functions the outcome will be numerically noiseless. Due to the multi-dimensional approach at ion scales, Vlasiator’s computational challenges are immense. We will use advanced HPC techniques using tens of thousands of cores to perform massively parallel computations.

What you will learn

After attending this workshop, you will:

• Understand core features of the Vlasiator package
• Be efficient using the Vlasiator package to perform plasma simulations
• Be productive in data analysis and visualization of simulation results
• Be able to create your own project

Prerequisites

• PhD students, postdocs, industry engineers
• Basic familiarity with general physics and plasma physics
• Some previous practical experience running some plasma code
• Basic familiarity with Unix shell
• Basic familiarity with HPC environment is helpful but not mandatory

Format/venue

The event is going to be held at the Stockholm RISE offices on KTH campus Drottning Kristinas väg 61 in room Innoversum. The closest metro station (marked T) is Tekniska Högskolan. However, we will also broadcast the seminars and hands-on sessions live for online participants who will be able to participate actively in the workshop through live Q&A and chat.

Agenda and registration

Please have a look at the event page on the ENCCS website.