Modern computation generates data -- lots and lots of data. Obtaining scientific knowledge from the results requires synthesizing vast datasets into fundamental understanding. A single image is unrivaled in its ability to produce not only insight but also beauty, revealing as a distillate what otherwise remains impenetrably hidden: 'a picture is worth a thousand terabytes.'

In visualization many aesthetic choices must be made. While an image from a computer simulation or a vast dataset can be functional, it can also be aesthetic. Astrophysics is a discipline rich in natural beauty, from planets and stars to galaxies and the large-scale structure of the Universe.

This project is dedicated to the most arresting, most captivating, and most pioneering visualization efforts in computational astrophysics. The hope is to inspire and motivate work beyond the functional, and to capture the evolving language of design within the context of our humble corner of space.

Have a suggestion or an amazing example? Suggestions are always welcome.

Dylan Nelson

current sheet tearing instability

Kinetic physics effects can be incorporated into global magnetohydrodynamics simulations. An example where MHD and kinetic effects show collective importance is in plasmoid formation, due to a "tearing instability" in the current sheet. The image shows such a process in a resistive MHD simulation: Jz on the top panel, and B^2-E^2 on the bottom panel. Plasmoid-unstable current sheets can be found in black hole accretion disks, black hole jets, and neutron star magnetospheres.

Methods: GRRMHD code BHAC

date added Aug. 18, 2020

categories 2d, idealized

author Bart Ripperda

origin website