Project Description
The research will examine the use of large scale numerical simulations to model binary supermassive black hole accretion disks. These binary supermassive black holes are a key science goal of the upcoming LISA mission. We will use either the moving-mesh code developed by the mentor at UWM called MANGA to model these accretion disks or a 2-d gpu optimized code call Sailfish to perform these simulations. Over the course of the summer, we plan to
1. Initialize the simulations with the proper initial conditions.
2. Run the simulation on the Mortimer cluster
3. Analyze the simulation using a set of newly developed analysis scripts.
We are leaning toward using Sailfish at the moment because this code has been use for this already and the PI wants to become familiar with its mixed python/c architecture that allows it to run on gpus.
Tasks and Responsibilites
The student will help compile and setup the software on the mortimer cluster. The student will be trained in developing and modifying the initial conditions. The student will run the simulations on Mortimer. Finally the student will develop new analysis codes for the simulation. For Sailfish, the last bit is substantial as we do not have ready analysis codes to modify to analyze these simulations.