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Title: A GPU-COMPUTING APPROACH TO SOLAR STOKES PROFILE INVERSION

Abstract

We present a new computational approach to the inversion of solar photospheric Stokes polarization profiles, under the Milne-Eddington model, for vector magnetography. Our code, named GENESIS, employs multi-threaded parallel-processing techniques to harness the computing power of graphics processing units (GPUs), along with algorithms designed to exploit the inherent parallelism of the Stokes inversion problem. Using a genetic algorithm (GA) engineered specifically for use with a GPU, we produce full-disk maps of the photospheric vector magnetic field from polarized spectral line observations recorded by the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) Vector Spectromagnetograph (VSM) instrument. We show the advantages of pairing a population-parallel GA with data-parallel GPU-computing techniques, and present an overview of the Stokes inversion problem, including a description of our adaptation to the GPU-computing paradigm. Full-disk vector magnetograms derived by this method are shown using SOLIS/VSM data observed on 2008 March 28 at 15:45 UT.

Authors:
 [1]
  1. National Solar Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22092321
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 757; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ALGORITHMS; ASTRONOMY; ASTROPHYSICS; DATA ANALYSIS; G CODES; MAGNETIC FIELDS; PARALLEL PROCESSING; PHOTOSPHERE; POLARIZATION; RADIANT HEAT TRANSFER; SUN

Citation Formats

Harker, Brian J., and Mighell, Kenneth J., E-mail: bharker@nso.edu, E-mail: mighell@noao.edu. A GPU-COMPUTING APPROACH TO SOLAR STOKES PROFILE INVERSION. United States: N. p., 2012. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/757/1/8.
Harker, Brian J., & Mighell, Kenneth J., E-mail: bharker@nso.edu, E-mail: mighell@noao.edu. A GPU-COMPUTING APPROACH TO SOLAR STOKES PROFILE INVERSION. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/757/1/8
Harker, Brian J., and Mighell, Kenneth J., E-mail: bharker@nso.edu, E-mail: mighell@noao.edu. 2012. "A GPU-COMPUTING APPROACH TO SOLAR STOKES PROFILE INVERSION". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/757/1/8.
@article{osti_22092321,
title = {A GPU-COMPUTING APPROACH TO SOLAR STOKES PROFILE INVERSION},
author = {Harker, Brian J. and Mighell, Kenneth J., E-mail: bharker@nso.edu, E-mail: mighell@noao.edu},
abstractNote = {We present a new computational approach to the inversion of solar photospheric Stokes polarization profiles, under the Milne-Eddington model, for vector magnetography. Our code, named GENESIS, employs multi-threaded parallel-processing techniques to harness the computing power of graphics processing units (GPUs), along with algorithms designed to exploit the inherent parallelism of the Stokes inversion problem. Using a genetic algorithm (GA) engineered specifically for use with a GPU, we produce full-disk maps of the photospheric vector magnetic field from polarized spectral line observations recorded by the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) Vector Spectromagnetograph (VSM) instrument. We show the advantages of pairing a population-parallel GA with data-parallel GPU-computing techniques, and present an overview of the Stokes inversion problem, including a description of our adaptation to the GPU-computing paradigm. Full-disk vector magnetograms derived by this method are shown using SOLIS/VSM data observed on 2008 March 28 at 15:45 UT.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/757/1/8},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22092321}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 1,
volume = 757,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Sep 20 00:00:00 EDT 2012},
month = {Thu Sep 20 00:00:00 EDT 2012}
}