Numerical simulations of acoustic waves with the graphic acceleration GAMER code

Abstract

Abstract. We present results of numerical simulations of acoustic waves with the use of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) acceleration GAMER code which implements a second-order Godunov-type numerical scheme and adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). The AMR implementation is based on constructing a hierarchy of grid patches with an octree data structure. In this code a hybrid model is adopted, in which the time-consuming solvers are dealt with GPUs and the complex AMR data structure is manipulated by Central Processing Units (CPUs). The code is highly parallelized with the Hilbert space-filling curve method. These implementations allow us to resolve well desperate spatial scales that are associated with acoustic waves. We show that a localized velocity (gas pressure) pulse that is initially launched within a uniform and still medium triggers acoustic waves simultaneously with a vortex (an entropy mode). In a flowing medium, acoustic waves experience amplitude growth or decay, a scenario which depends on a location of the flow and relative direction of wave propagation. The amplitude growth results from instabilities which are associated with negative energy waves.