Setting Up a Model#

This section details the basics of running a custom model in Rayleigh. For a commplete list of all Rayleigh input parameters, see Input parameters.

Preparation#

Each simulation run using Rayleigh should have its own directory. The code is run from within that directory, and any output is stored in various subdirectories created by Rayleigh at run time. Wherever you create your simulation directory, ensure that you have sufficient space to store the output.

Do not run Rayleigh from within the source code directory. Do not cross the beams: no running two models from within the same directory.

After you create your run directory, you will want to copy (cp) or soft link (ln -s ) the executable from Rayleigh/bin to your run directory. Soft-linking is recommended; if you recompile the code, the executable remains up-to-date. If running on an IBM machine, copy the script named Rayleigh/etc/make_dirs to your run directory and execute the script. This will create the directory structure expected by Rayleigh for its outputs. This step is unnecessary when compiling with the Intel, GNU, AOCC, or Cray compilers.

Next, you must create a main_input file. This file contains the information that describes how your simulation is run. Rayleigh always looks for a file named main_input in the directory that it is launched from. Copy one of the sample input files from the Rayleigh/input_examples/ into your run directory, and rename it to main_input. The file named benchmark_diagnostics_input can be used to generate output for the diagnostics plotting tutorial (see §diagnostics).

Finally, Rayleigh has some OpenMP-related logic that is still in development. We do not support Rayleigh’s OpenMP mode at this time, but on some systems, it can be important to explicitly disable OpenMP in order to avoid tripping any OpenMP flags used by external libraries, such as Intel’s MKL. Please be sure and run the following command before executing Rayleigh. This command should be precede each call to Rayleigh.

export OMP_NUM_THREADS=1 (bash)
setenv OMP_NUM_THREADS 1 (c-shell)

Grid Setup#

The number of radial grid points is denoted by \(N_r\), and the number of \(\theta\) grid points by \(N_\theta\). The number of grid points in the \(\phi\) direction is always \(N_\phi=2\times N_\theta\). \(N_r\) and \(N_\theta\) may each be defined in the problemsize_namelist of main_input:

&problemsize_namelist
 n_r = 48
 n_theta = 96
/

\(N_r\) and \(N_\theta\) may also be specified at the command line (overriding the values in main_input) via:

mpiexec -np 8 ./rayleigh.opt -nr 48 -ntheta 96

If desired, the number of spherical harmonic degrees \(N_\ell\) or the maximal spherical harmonic degree \(\ell_\mathrm{max}\equiv N_\ell-1\) may be specified in lieu of \(N_\theta\). The example above may equivalently be written as

&problemsize_namelist
 n_r = 48
 l_max = 63
/

or

&problemsize_namelist
 n_r = 48
 n_l = 64
/

The radial domain bounds are determined by the namelist variables rmin (the lower radial boundary) and rmax (the upper radial boundary):

&problemsize_namelist
 rmin = 1.0
 rmax = 2.0
/

Alternatively, the user may specify the shell depth (rmax-rmin) and aspect ratio (rmin/rmax) in lieu of rmin and rmax. The preceding example may then be written as:

&problemsize_namelist
 aspect_ratio = 0.5
 shell_depth = 1.0
/

Note that the interpretation of rmin and rmax depends on whether your simulation is dimensional or nondimensional. We discuss these alternative formulations in §Underlying Physics

It is possible to run Rayleigh with multiple, stacked domains in the radial direction. Each of these is discretized using their own set of Chebyshev polynomials. The boundaries and number of polynomials can be set for each domain indiviadually, which makes it possible to control the radial resolution at different radii.

To use this feature the problem size has to be specified using domain_bounds and ncheby instead of rmin, rmax, and n_r. ncheby takes a comma-separated list of the number of radial points to use in each domain. domain_bounds takes a comma-separated list of the radii of the domain boundaries, starting with the smallest radius. It has one element more than the number of domains. This is an example of two radial domains, one covering the radii 1 to 2 with 16 radial points, the other the radii 2 to 4 with 64 radial points.

&problemsize_namelist
 domain_bounds = 1.0, 2.0, 4.0
 ncheby = 16, 64
/

Radial values in the diagnostic output will be repeated at the inner domain boundaries. Most quantities are forced to be continuous at these points.

Numerical Controls#

Rayleigh has several options that control aspects of the numerical method used. For begining users these can generallly be left to default values.

Physics Controls#

Many physical effects can be turned on or off in Rayleigh. The details of what physics you want to include will depend on the type of model you want to run. Be careful, however, that if you are adapting an input file from the benchmark described in Installation on HPC systems that you set benchmark_mode to 0 or omit it entirely, as this will override other input flags in favor of running the specified benchmark.

A number of logical variables can be used to turn certain physics on (value = .true.) or off ( value = .false.). These variables are described in Table table_logicals, with default values indicated in brackets.

Table. Logicals.

Variables in the Physical_Controls_Namelist that may be specified to control run behavior (defaults indicated in brackets)

Variable [Default value]

Description

magnetism [.false.]

Turn magnetism on or off

rotation [.false.]

Turn rotation on or off (pressure is not scaled by E when off)

lorentz_forces [.true.]

Turn Lorentz forces on or off (magnetism must be .true.)

viscous_heating [.true.]

Turn viscous heating on or off (inactive in Boussinesq mode)

ohmic_heating [.true.]

Turn ohmic heating off or on (inactive in Boussinesq mode)

Initial Conditions#

A Rayleigh simulation may be initialized with a random thermal and/or magnetic field, or it may be restarted from an existing checkpoint file (see §Checkpointing for a detailed discussion of checkpointing). This behavior is controlled through the initial_conditions_namelist and the init_type and magnetic_init_type variables. The init_type variable controls the behavior of the velocity and thermal fields at initialization time. Available options are:

  • init_type=-1 ; read velocity and thermal fields from a checkpoint file

  • init_type=1 ; Christensen et al. (2001) case 0 benchmark init ( {\(\ell=4,m=4\)} temperature mode)

  • init_type=6 ; Jones et al. (2011) steady anelastic benchmark ( {\(\ell=19,m=19\)} entropy mode)

  • init_type=7 ; random temperature or entropy perturbation

  • init_type=8 ; user generated temperature or entropy perturbation (see Generic Initial Conditions below)

When initializing a random thermal field, all spherical harmonic modes are independently initialized with a random amplitude whose maximum possible value is determined by the namelist variable temp_amp. The mathematical form of of this random initialization is given by

\[T(r,\theta,\phi) = \sum_\ell \sum_m c_\ell^m f(r)g(\ell)\mathrm{Y}_\ell^m(\theta,\phi),\]

where the \(c_\ell^m\)’s are (complex) random amplitudes, distributed normally within the range [-temp_amp, temp_amp]. The radial amplitude \(f(r)\) is designed to taper off to zero at the boundaries and is given by

\[f(r) = \frac{1}{2}\left[1-\mathrm{cos}\left( 2\pi\frac{r-rmin}{rmax-rmin} \right) \right].\]

The amplitude function \(g(\ell)\) concentrates power in the central band of spherical harmonic modes used in the simulation. It is given by

\[g(\ell) = \mathrm{exp}\left[ - 9\left( \frac{ 2\,\ell-\ell_\mathrm{max} }{ \ell_\mathrm{max} } \right)^2 \right],\]

which is itself, admittedly, a bit random.

When initializing using a random thermal perturbation, it is important to consider whether it makes sense to separately initialize the spherically-symmetric component of the thermal field with a profile that is in conductive balance. This is almost certainly the case when running with fixed temperature conditions. The logical namelist variable conductive_profile can be used for this purpose. It’s default value is .false. (off), and its value is ignored completely when restarting from a checkpoint. To initialize a simulation with a random temperature field superimposed on a spherically-symmetric, conductive background state, something similar to the following should appear in your main_input file:

&initial_conditions_namelist
init_type=7
temp_amp = 1.0d-4
conductive_profile=.true.
/

Alternatively, you may wish to specify an ell=0 initial thermal profile that is neither random nor conductive. To create your own profile, follow the example found in Rayleigh/examples/custom_thermal_profile/custom_thermal_profile.ipynb. Then, use the following combination of input parameters in main_input:

&initial_conditions_namelist
init_type=7
temp_amp = 1.0d-4
custom_thermal_file = 'my_custom_profile.dat'
/

This will use the radial profile stored in my_custom_profile.dat for the ell=0 component of entropy/temperature Random values will be used to initialize all other modes.

Magnetic-field initialization follows a similar pattern. Available values for magnetic_input type are:

  • magnetic_init_type = -1 ; read magnetic field from a checkpoint file

  • magnetic_init_type = 1 ; Christensen et al. (2001) case 0 benchmark init

  • magnetic_init_type = 7 ; randomized vector potential

  • magnetic_init_type=8 ; user generated magnetic potential fields (see Generic Initial Conditions below)

For the randomized magnetic field, both the poloidal and toroidal vector-potential functions are given a random power distribution described by Equation eq_init. Each mode’s random amplitude is then determined by namelist variable mag_amp. This variable should be interpreted as an approximate magnetic field strength (it’s value is rescaled appropriately for the poloidal and toroidal vector potentials, which are differentiated to yield the magnetic field).

When initializing all fields from scratch, a main_input file should contain something similar to:

&initial_conditions_namelist
init_type=7
temp_amp = 1.0d-4
conductive_profile=.true.  ! Not always necessary (problem dependent) ...
magnetic_init_type=7
mag_amp = 1.0d-1
/

Generic Initial Conditions#

The user can input any initial conditions from data files generated by a python routine “rayleigh_spectral_input.py”, which can be called as a script or imported as a python class.

The available generic initial conditions options are

&initial_conditions_namelist
init_type=8
T_init_file = '<filename>'  !! Temperature
W_init_file = '<filename>'  !! Poloidal velocity potential
Z_init_file = '<filename>'  !! Toroidal velocity potential
P_init_file = '<filename>'  !! `Pressure` potential
magneic_init_type=8
C_init_file = '<filename>'  !! Poloidal magnetic potential
A_init_file = '<filename>'  !! Toroidal magnetic potential

/

where T_init_file is a user generated initial temperature field and <filename> is the name of the file generated by the python script. If T_init_file is not specified the initial field will be zero by default. The same for the other fields. Fields T, W, Z, and P are only initialized from the file if init_type=8. Fields C and A are only initialized from file if magnetic_init_type=8.

To generate a generic initial condition input file, for example, if a user wanted to specify a single mode in that input file then they could just run the script:

rayleigh_spectral_input.py -m 0 0 0 1.+0.j -o example

to specify (n,l,m) = (0,0,0) to have a coefficient 1.+0.j and output it to the file example.

This could also be done using the python as a module. In a python shell this would look like:

from rayleigh_spectral_input import *
si = SpectralInput()
si.add_mode(1., n=0, l=0, m=0)
si.write('example')

For a more complicated example, e.g. the hydrodynamic benchmark from Christensen et al. 2001, the user can specify functions of theta, phi and radius that the python will convert to spectral:

rayleigh_spectral_input.py -ar 0.35 -sd 1.0 -nt 96 -nr 64 -o example \
 -e 'import numpy as np; x = 2*radius - rmin - rmax;
 rmax*rmin/radius - rmin + 210*0.1*(1 - 3*x*x + 3*(x**4) -
 x**6)*(np.sin(theta)**4)*np.cos(4*phi)/np.sqrt(17920*np.pi)'

in “script” mode.

Alternatively, in “module” mode in a python shell:

from rayleigh_spectral_input import *
si = SpectralInput(n_theta=96, n_r=64)
rmin, rmax = radial_extents(aspect_ratio=0.35, shell_depth=1.0)
def func(theta, phi, radius):
   x = 2*radius - rmin - rmax
   return rmax*rmin/radius - rmin + 210*0.1*(1 - 3*x*x + 3*(x**4) - x**6)*(np.sin(theta)**4)*np.cos(4*phi)/np.sqrt(17920*np.pi)
si.transform_from_rtp_function(func, aspect_ratio=0.35, shell_depth=1.0)
si.write('example')

The above commands will generate a file called example which can be called by

&initial_conditions_namelist
init_type=8
T_init_file = 'example'

Note that these two examples will have produced different data formats - the first one sparse (listing only the mode specified) and the second one dense (listing all modes).

For more examples including magnetic potentials see tests/generic_input.

Custom Reference States#

If desired, the constant and nonconstant equation coefficients enumerated here may be completely or partially specified by the user. This allows the user to specify diffusivity profiles, background states, or nondimensionalizations that are not supplied by Rayleigh. Two use cases are supported:

  1. One of Rayleigh’s predefined reference states may be used, but with some coefficients supplied instead through an auxilliary coefficients file. For each predefined reference type, the coefficients file may be used to override volumetric heating (\(\,c_{10} + f_6\,\)) and the transport coefficients \(\nu,\kappa,\eta\) (\(\,c_5 + f_3,\,\, c_6 + f_5,\,\, c_7 + f_7\,\) ). For Boussinesq runs, the buoyancy term may also be modified (\(\,c_2 + f_2\,\)).

  2. Nonconstant coefficents may be completely specified through the coefficients file. In this mode, activated by setting reference_type=4, the user must fully specify nonconstant coefficients \(f_1-f_7\).

In either case, constant coefficients may be defined within the coefficients file or, read in from main_input, or some combination of the two. Moreover, the radial variation of transport coefficients, as specified by nu_type, kappa_type, and eta_type flags is respected. We elaborate on this behavior below.

Creating a Coefficients File#

The first step in modifying Rayleigh’s equation coefficients is to generate an equation coefficients file. This file will be used alongside options defined in main_input to determine which combination of coefficients are overridden. In order create your coefficients file, you will need to create an instance of the equation_coefficients class, provided in post_processing/reference_tools.py. Constant and nonconstant coefficients may then be set through set_constant and set_function methods respectively.

The equation_coefficient class is instantiated by passing a radial grid to its init method. This grid can be cast in ascending or descending order, but it should generally possess a much finer mesh than what you plan to use in Rayleigh. Nonconstant coefficients specified in the coefficients file will be interpolated onto the Rayleigh grid at input time.

The file structure created through the class’s write method contains a record of those functions and contants that have been set. Rayleigh uses this information at runtime along with main_input to to perform consistency checks and to determine the values ultimately assigned to each constant coefficient.

The sample code below defines a file with sufficient information to alter the viscous, heating, and buoyancy functions of a Rayleigh-provided reference state. This information would be insufficient for use with reference_type=4, but several example notebooks handling that scenario are provided below.

import numpy
from reference_tools import equation_coefficients

#Define a name for your equation coefficients file
ofile = 'my_coeffs.dat'

# Define the radial grid.  We suggest using a uniform,
# but finer radial mesh than what you plan for Rayleigh.
# Rayleigh's radial domain bounds should match or fall
# within the domain bounds used for this radial grid.
nr = 2048                     # number of radial points
ri = 0.5                      # Inner radius
ro = 1.0                      # Outer radius [aspect ratio = 0.5]
radius=numpy.linspace(ri,ro,nr, dtype='float64')

#Instantiate an equation_coefficients object
eqc = equation_coefficients(radius)

# Set the buoyancy, heating, and viscosity functions
# These particular choices may be questionable!
buoy = radius
nu   = radius**2
heat = radius**3
eqc.set_function(buoy , 2)  # set function 2
eqc.set_function(nu   , 3)  # set function 3
eqc.set_function(heat , 6)  # set function 6

# Set the corresponding constants
cbuoy = 10.0
cnu   = 20.0
cheat = 30.0
eqc.set_constant(cbuoy , 2)   # set constant 2
eqc.set_constant(cnu   , 5)   # set constant 5
eqc.set_constant(cheat , 10)  # set constant 10

#Generate the coefficients file
eqc.write(ofile)

Constant Coefficients: Runtime Control#

While constant coefficients may be specified via the coefficients file, many of these coefficients represent simulation “control knobs” that the user may wish to modify at run-time. For instance, the user may want to frequently use a particular profile for viscous diffusion (\(f_3\)), but would like to vary its amplitude (\(c_5\)) between simulations without generating a new coefficients file. Rayleigh provides the opportunity to override all constant coefficients, or a subset of them, through the main_input file.

Consider the example below.

&Reference_Namelist
 ...
 custom_reference_file='mycoeffs.dat'
 override_constants=T
 ra_constants( 2) = 1.0
 ra_constants( 5) = 10.0
 ra_constants(10) = 14.0
 ...
/

In this example, values of constant coefficients \(c_2,\,c_5,\,c_{10}\) will be determined entirely via the main_input file and assigned the values of 1.0, 10.0, and 14.0 respectively. Values specified in mycoeffs.dat will be ignored completely.

This behavior is dictated by the override_constants flag, which instructs Rayleigh to ignore ALL constant coefficients specified in the coefficients files. If a coefficient is not specified in main_input, its value will be set to Rayleigh’s internal default value of 0. Consider the following example

&Reference_Namelist
 ...
 custom_reference_file='mycoeffs.dat'
 override_constants=T
 ra_constants( 2) = 1.0
 ra_constants(10) = 14.0
 ...
/

The resulting values of \(c_2,\,c_5,\,c_{10}\) will be 1.0, 0.0, and 14.0 respectively. The constant \(c_5\) will not be set to 20.0 (the value specified in the coefficients file).

To specify a subset of constants, use the override_constant flag for each constant you wish to override, as shown below.

&Reference_Namelist
 ...
 custom_reference_file='mycoeffs.dat'
 override_constant( 2) = T
 override_constant(10) = T
 ra_constants( 2) = 1.0
 ra_constants(10) = 14.0
 ...
/

In this case, the values of constants \(c_2\) and \(c_{10}\) will be taken the main_input file. The value of \(c_5\) will be taken from the coefficients file. If a constant’s override flag is set, but its value is not specified in main_input, the default value of zero will be used.

Augmenting a Rayleigh-Provided Reference State#

When augumenting one of Rayleigh’s internal reference-state types, set the with_custom_reference flag (Reference_Namelist) to true in main_input. In addition, assign a list of values to with_custom_constants and with_custom_functions. As an example, to modify the heating and buoyancy profiles using entirely information provided through the equation coefficients file, main_input would contain the following

&Reference_Namelist
 ...
 reference_type=1
 custom_reference_file='mycoeffs.dat'
 with_custom_reference=T
 with_custom_constants=2,10
 with_custom_functions=2,6
 ...
/

These flags can be used in tandem with the override flags to specify values via main_input. For example, the following input combination would set a value of \(c_2\) of 13.0

&Reference_Namelist
 ...
 reference_type=1
 custom_reference_file='mycoeffs.dat'
 with_custom_reference=T
 with_custom_constants=2,10
 with_custom_functions=2,6
 override_constant(2)=T
 ra_constants(2) = 13.0
 ...
/

Specifing an Entire Custom Reference State#

To specify a full set of custom equation coefficients, set reference_type to 4. Constant coefficients may be overridden, if desired, and as described above. Note that you must fully specify nonconstant coefficients \(f_1-f_7\). If desired, you may also specify their logarithmic derivatives on the fine mesh (see the anelastic notebooks below). This is optional, however, as Rayleigh will compute those funtions if not provided.

&Reference_Namelist
 ...
 reference_type = 4
 custom_reference_file='mycoeffs.dat'
 override_constant( 2) = T
 override_constant(10) = T
 ra_constants( 2) = 1.0
 ra_constants(10) = 14.0
 ...
/

Behavior of Transport Coefficients#

Transport coefficients may also be specified as desired, but nu_type, kappa_type, and eta_type still behave as described below. If you wish to specify a custom diffusivity profile, set the corresponding type to 3. In that case, the corresponding nonconstant coefficient MUST be set in the equation coefficients file. Moreover, if reference_type=4, these corresponding constant must be set in either the coefficients file or in main_input (regardless of the diffusion type specified).

For diffusion types 2 and 3, if the reference_type is not 4, the value of {nu,kappa,eta}_top normally used by that reference_type will be invoked if the corresponding constant coefficient is not set.

A Note on Volumetric Heating#

Finally, if specifying a custom form for the volumetric heating, please ensure that heating_type is set to a positive, nonzero value in the reference_namelist. Otherwise, reference heating will be deactivated. Any Rayleigh-initialization of the heating function that takes place initially will be overridden by the with_custom_reference or reference_type=4 flags.

Custom Reference State Examples#

The notebooks below provide several examples of how to generate a custom-equation-coefficient file. These notebooks are located in the examples/custom_reference_states subdirectory of the main Rayleigh directory. Each notebook has an accompanying main_input file, also located in this directory.

Boundary Conditions & Internal Heating#

Boundary conditions are controlled through the Boundary_Conditions_Namelist. All Rayleigh simulations are run with impenetrable boundaries. These boundaries may be either no-slip or stress-free (default). If you want to employ no-slip conditions at both boundaries, set no_slip_boundaries = .true.. If you wish to set no-slip conditions at only one boundary, set no_slip_top=.true. or no_slip_bottom=.true. in the Boundary_Conditions_Namelist.

By default, magnetic boundary conditions are set to match to a potential field at each boundary.

By default, the thermal anomoly \(\Theta\) is set to a fixed value at each boundary. The upper and lower boundary-values are specified by setting T_top and T_bottom respectively in the Boundary_Conditions_Namelist. Their defaults values are 1 and 0 respectively.

Alternatively, you may specify a constant value of \(\partial\Theta/\partial r\) at each boundary. This is accomplished by setting the variables fix_dTdr_top and fix_dTdr_bottom. Values of the gradient may be enforced by setting the namelist variables dTdr_top and dTdr_bottom. Both default to a value of zero.

Generic Boundary Conditions#

Boundary conditions for temperature, \(T\), and the magnetic poloidal potential, \(C\), may also be set using generic spectral input. As with initial conditions (see Generic Initial Conditions) this is done by generating a generic input file using the rayleigh_spectral_input.py script. The file output from this script can then be applied using:

  • fix_Tvar_top and T_top_file (overrides T_top for a constant boundary condition) to set a fixed upper \(T\) boundary condition

  • fix_dTdr_top and dTdr_top_file (overrides dTdr_top) to set a fixed upper \(T\) gradient boundary condition

  • fix_Tvar_bottom and T_bottom_file (overrides T_bottom) to set a fixed lower \(T\) boundary condition

  • fix_dTdr_bottom and dTdr_bottom_file (overrides dTdr_bottom) to set a fixed lower \(T\) gradient boundary condition

  • fix_poloidal_top and C_top_file (overrides impose_dipole_field) to set a fixed upper \(C\) boundary condition

  • fix_poloidal_bottom and C_bottom_file (overrides impose_dipole_field) to set a fixed lower \(C\) boundary condition

For example, to set a \(C\) boundary condition on both boundaries with modes (l,m) = (1,0) and (1,1) set to pre-calculated values run:

rayleigh_spectral_input.py -m 1 0 2.973662220170157 -m 1 1 0.5243368809294343+0.j -o ctop_init_bc
rayleigh_spectral_input.py -m 1 0 8.496177771914736 -m 1 1 1.4981053740840984+0.j -o cbottom_init_bc

which will generate generic spectral input files ctop_init_bc and cbottom_init_bc. Set these to be used as the boundary conditions in main_input using:

&Boundary_Conditions_Namelist
fix_poloidalfield_top = .true.
fix_poloidalfield_bottom = .true.
C_top_file = 'ctop_init_bc'
C_bottom_file = 'cbottom_init_bc'
/

This can be seen being applied in tests/generic_input.

Internal Heating#

The internal heating function \(Q(r)\) is activated and described by two variables in the Reference_Namelist. These are Luminosity and heating_type. Note that these values are part of the Reference_Namelist and not the Boundary_Conditions namelist. Three heating types (0,1, and 4) are fully supported at this time. Heating type zero corresponds to no heating. This is the default.

Heating_type=1: This heating type is given by :

\[\label{eq:heating} %\frac{\partial \Theta}{\partial t}=\gamma\left( 1 -\frac{\hat{\rho}(r_\mathrm{max})\,\hat{T}(r_\mathrm{max}) }{\hat{\rho}(r)\, \hat{T}(r)} \right), Q(r)= \gamma\,\hat{\rho}(r)\, \hat{T}(r)\]

where \(\gamma\) is a normalization constant defined such that

\[%4\pi r_o^2 \hat{\rho}\hat{T}\kappa(r)\frac{\partial \Theta}{\partial r}=\mathrm{Luminosity} 4\pi\int_{r=r_\mathrm{min}}^{r=r_\mathrm{max}} Q(r)\, r^2 dr = \mathrm{Luminosity}.\]

This heating profile is particularly useful for emulating radiative heating in a stellar convection zone.

Heating_type=4: This heating type corresponds a heating that is variable in radius, but constant in energy density. Namely

\[\hat{\rho}\hat{T}\frac{\partial \Theta}{\partial t}=\gamma.\]

The constant \(\gamma\) in this case is also set by enforcing Equation eq_lum.

Note: If internal heating is used in combination with fix_dTdr_top, then the value of \(\partial\Theta/\partial r\) at the upper boundary is set by Rayleigh. Any value for dTdr_top specified in main_input is ignored. This is done to ensure consistency with the internal heating and any flux passing through the lower boundary due to the use of a fixed-flux condition. To override this behavior, set adjust_dTdr_top to .false. in the Boundary_Conditions namelist.

Output Controls#

Rayleigh comes bundled with an in-situ diagnostics package that allows the user to sample a simulation in a variety of ways, and at user-specified intervals throughout a run. This package is comprised of roughly 17,000 lines of code (about half of the Rayleigh code base). Here we will focus on generating basic output, but we refer the user to the section plotting and Output Quantity Codes for more information.

Rayleigh can compute the quantities listed in Output Quantity Codes in a variety of averages, slices, and spectra, which are collectively called data products. These are sorted by Rayleigh into directories as follows:

  • G_Avgs: The quantity is averaged over the entire simulation volume.

  • Shell_Avgs: The quantity is averaged over each spherical shell and output as a function of radius.

  • AZ_Avgs: The quantity is averaged over longitude and output as a function of radius and latitude.

  • Shell_Slices: The quantity at the specified radii is output as a function of latitude and longitude.

  • Equatorial_Slices: The quantity at the specified latitudes is output as a function of radius and longitude.

  • Meridional_Slices: The quantity at the specified longitudes is output as a function of radius and latitude.

  • Spherical_3D: The qunatity over the entire domain. Careful – these files can be quite large.

  • Shell_Spectra: The quantity’s spherical harmonic coefficents at the specified radii.

  • Point_Probes: The quantity at a specified radius, latitude, and longtiude.

  • SPH_Mode_Sampels: The quantity’s spherical harmonic coefficents at the specified radii and \(\ell\).

In addition Rayleigh can output Checkpoints, which are the data required to restart Rayleigh and will be discussed in detail in Checkpointing, and Timings, which contain information about the performance of the run.

Output in Rayleigh is controled through the io_controls_namelist. For each of the data products listed, the output is specified using the following pattern:

  • _values: The quantity codes desired (seperated by commas)

  • _frequency: The frequency in iterations those quantities will be output.

  • _nrec: Number of records to be combined into a single file.

  • _levels: Radial indicies at which the quantities will be output.

  • _indices: Latitudinal indicies at which the quantities will be output.

  • _ell: The spherical harmonic degree at which the quantities will be output.

  • _r, _theta, _phi: The radial, latitudinal, and longitudinal indicies at which the quantities will be output.

For example, if you wanted to output shell slice data for quantities 1, 2, 10, and 2711 at radial indicices 2 and 54 every 100 iterations and have 4 records per file, you would set

shellslice_levels    = 2,54
shellslice_values    = 1,2,10,2711
shellslice_frequency = 100
shellslice_nrec      = 4

Files output in this way will have the filename of their iteration.

Transport coefficents#

Transport coefficients (viscosity, thermal diffusivity) are specified in the transport namelist.

Table. Anelastic Transport.

Variables in the Transport_Namelist that must be specified when running in dimensional anelastic mode. In addition, reference_type=2 must also be specified in the Reference_Namelist.

Variable [Default value]

Description

nu_top [1.0]

kinematic viscosity at rmax, \(\nu(rmax)\)

nu_type [1]

determines whether \(\nu\) is constant with radius (1) or varies with density (2)

nu_power [0.0]

exponent in : \(\nu(r) = \left( \frac{\rho (r)}{\rho(r=rmax)} \right)^ {nu\_power}\); use with nu_type=2

kappa_top [1.0]

thermal diffusivity at rmax, \(\kappa(rmax)\)

kappa_type [1]

determines whether \(\kappa\) is constant with radius (1) or varies with density (2)

kappa_power [0.0]

exponent in : \(\kappa(r) = \left( \frac{\ rho(r)}{\rho(r=rmax)} \right)^ {kappa\_power}\); use with kappa_type=2

eta_top [1.0]

magnetic diffusivity at rmax, \(\eta(rmax)\)

eta_type [1]

determines whether \(\eta\) is constant with radius (1) or varies with density (2)

eta_power [0.0]

exponent in : \(\eta(r) = \left( \frac{ \rho(r)}{\rho(r=rmax)} \right)^ {eta\_power}\); use with eta_type=2

Examples from Recent Publications#

A Solar-like Case

This is the main_input file from Case 39 from:

Hindman, Bradley W., Nicholas A. Featherstone, and Keith Julien. 2020. “Morphological Classification of the Convective Regimes in Rotating Stars.” The Astrophysical Journal 898 (2): 120. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab9ec2.

&problemsize_namelist
n_r = 64
n_theta = 192
nprow = 32
npcol = 32
rmin = 5.0d10
rmax = 6.5860209d10
/
&numerical_controls_namelist
/
&physical_controls_namelist
rotation  = .true.
magnetism = .false.
/
&temporal_controls_namelist
max_time_step = 1000.0d0
max_iterations = 5000000
checkpoint_interval = 50000
quicksave_interval = 10000
num_quicksaves = 4
cflmin = 0.4d0
cflmax = 0.6d0
/
&io_controls_namelist
/
&output_namelist
!shellslice_levels    = 16,32,48,64,80,96,112
!shellslice_values    = 1                                               ! Codes needed for standard output routines
shellslice_levels    = 8,16,24,32,40,48,56,64,72,80,88,96,104,112,120
shellslice_values    = 1,2,3,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,401,501,502,2701,2702,2703,2704,2705,2706,2707,2708,2709,2710,2711
shellslice_frequency = 10000
shellslice_nrec      = 1

!shellspectra_values    = 1,2,3                                         ! Codes needed for standard output routines
shellspectra_levels    = 16,32,48,64,80,96,112
shellspectra_values    = 1,2,3,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,401,501,502,503,504,2701,2702,2703,2704,2705,2706,2707,2708,2709,2710,2711
shellspectra_frequency = 10000
shellspectra_nrec      = 1

!azavg_values    = 1,2,3,201,202                                        ! Codes needed for standard output routines
azavg_values    = 1,2,3,201,202,401,405,409,501,502,1433,1455,1470,1923,1935,1943,2701,2702,2703,2704,2705,2706,2707,2708,2709,2710,2711,2712,2713,2714,2715
azavg_frequency = 1000
azavg_nrec = 10

!shellavg_values    = 1,2,3,501,502,1433,1455,1470,1923,1935            ! Codes needed for standard output routines
shellavg_values    = 1,2,3,401,405,409,501,502,1433,1455,1470,1923,1935,2701,2702,2703,2704,2705,2706,2707,2708,2709,2710,2711,2712,2713,2714,2715
shellavg_frequency = 100
shellavg_nrec = 100

!globalavg_values = 401,402,403,404,405,406,407,408,409,410,411,412      ! Codes needed for standard output routines
globalavg_values = 401,402,403,404,405,406,407,408,409,410,411,412,413,417,421,2701,2702,2703,2704,2705,2706,2707
globalavg_frequency = 100
globalavg_nrec = 100

!equatorial_values    = 1,3                                          ! Codes needed for standard output routines
equatorial_values    = 1,2,3,4,5,6,201,203,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,401,501,502,503,504,2701,2702,2703,2704,2705,2706,2707,2708,2709,2710,2711
equatorial_frequency = 10000
equatorial_nrec      = 1

full3d_values = 4
full3d_frequency = 9000000
/

&Boundary_Conditions_Namelist
no_slip_boundaries = .false.
strict_L_Conservation = .false.
dtdr_bottom = 0.0d0
T_Top    = 0.0d0
T_Bottom = 851225.7d0
fix_tvar_top = .true.
fix_tvar_bottom = .false.
fix_dtdr_bottom = .true.
/
&Initial_Conditions_Namelist
init_type = 7
magnetic_init_type = -1
mag_amp = 1.0d0
temp_amp = 1.0d1
temp_w = 0.01d4
!restart_iter = 0    ! restart from latest checkpoint of any flavor
/
&Test_Namelist
/
&Reference_Namelist
reference_type = 2
heating_type = 1
luminosity = 3.846d33
poly_n = 1.5d0
poly_Nrho = 3.0d0
poly_mass = 1.98891D33
poly_rho_i = 0.18053428d0
pressure_specific_heat = 3.5d8
angular_velocity = 5.74d-6   ! Sidereal period of 12.7 days (twice the sidereal Carrington rate)
/
&Transport_Namelist
nu_top    = 4.d12
kappa_top = 4.d12
/