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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for Fnord666

World speed record for polymer simulations shattered by over a hundred-fold

"5D Entanglement in Star Polymer Dynamics," by Airidas Korolkovas [was] published in Advanced Theory and Simulations, a new journal focusing on breakthroughs in the science of modelling. A unique computer algorithm was invented to capture the billions of steps needed for entangled polymers. It runs on a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) and takes advantage of texture mapping, an often-overlooked functionality. Originally, this feature was designed for video games, but here it has been repurposed to calculate the molecular forces inside a little polymer droplet. Using a streamlined physics model, this simulation runs hundreds of times faster than traditional code. It opens new horizons on the time scales that can be addressed in scientific computing. This can further push the frontiers for the latest generation of supercomputers, like the recently opened Summit in Oak Ridge National Lab, USA, which has almost 30,000 GPUs.

The effect of higher dimensional entanglement can be observed in real life, using an instrument called neutron spin-echo. This machine shoots tiny subatomic particles, called neutrons, and listens to the echo of their nuclear spin as they scatter, or bounce off the polymer sample. A prime example is the IN15 beamline at the Institut Laue-Langevin, France, where the entanglement of linear polymers was first discovered. Thanks to constant upgrades and to upcoming new facilities like the European Spallation Source, Sweden, an experimental proof of the simulation prediction for star polymers may soon be within reach. A combination of high performance computing and neutron scattering is a powerful tool of discovery for new materials that improve our quality of life and respect the environment.

5D Entanglement in Star Polymer Dynamics (DOI: 10.1002/adts.201800078) (DX)

Original Submission