The International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis
The International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis
Author: Vedant Dhruv (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Advisor: Charles Gammie (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Abstract: Accurately interpreting observations from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) requires general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) simulations that can model increasingly complex physics. To address this need within an evolving and heterogeneous computing landscape, we present some results from KHARMA, a performance-portable GRMHD code built upon the Kokkos library.
We leverage KHARMA to implement two high-fidelity scientific models. First, by incorporating an extended GRMHD (EGRMHD) model for weakly-collisional plasma, we produce synthetic observables that provide a better fit to EHT observations of the Galactic Center. Second, we simulate black hole accretion in alternate theories of gravity, using the resulting electromagnetic signatures to place new constraints on deviations from General Relativity. The computational demands of these advanced physical models are made tractable by KHARMA's efficient, performance-portable, modular implementation.
Our work demonstrates how an extensible, performance-portable framework enables the generation of high-fidelity models that directly address key questions in black hole accretion physics. The resulting library of synthetic data not only constrains fundamental physics but also enables a more direct and robust comparison between complex theoretical models and observational data.
Thesis Canvas: pdf