Since the dawn of computing, the quest for a better understanding of Nature has been a driving force for technological development. Groundbreaking achievements by great scientists have paved the way from the abacus to the supercomputing power of today. When trying to replicate Nature in the computer’s silicon test tube, there is need for precise and computable process descriptions. The scienti?c ?elds of Ma- ematics and Physics provide a powerful vehicle for such descriptions in terms of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). Formulated as such equations, physical laws can become subject to computational and analytical studies. In the computational setting, the equations can be discreti ed for ef?cient solution on a computer, leading to valuable tools for simulation of natural and man-made processes. Numerical so- tion of PDE-based mathematical models has been an important research topic over centuries, and will remain so for centuries to come. In the context of computer-based simulations, the quality of the computed results is directly connected to the model’s complexity and the number of data points used for the computations. Therefore, computational scientists tend to ?ll even the largest and most powerful computers they can get access to, either by increasing the si e of the data sets, or by introducing new model terms that make the simulations more realistic, or a combination of both. Today, many important simulation problems can not be solved by one single computer, but calls for parallel computing.

This is an introductory book on supercomputer applications written by a researcher who is working on solving scientific and engineering application problems on parallel computers. The book is intended to quickly bring researchers and graduate students working on numerical solutions of partial differential equations with various applications into the area of parallel processing.The book starts from the basic concepts of parallel processing, like speedup, efficiency and different parallel architectures, then introduces the most frequently used algorithms for solving PDEs on parallel computers, with practical examples. Finally, it discusses more advanced topics, including different scalability metrics, parallel time stepping algorithms and new architectures and heterogeneous computing networks which have emerged in the last few years of high performance computing. Hundreds of references are also included in the book to direct interested readers to more detailed and in-depth discussions of specific topics.

Mathematics of Computing -- Parallelism.

This compact yet thorough tutorial is the perfect introduction to the basic concepts of solving partial differential equations (PDEs) using parallel numerical methods. In just eight short chapters, the authors provide readers with enough basic knowledge of PDEs, discretization methods, solution techniques, parallel computers, parallel programming, and the run-time behavior of parallel algorithms to allow them to understand, develop, and implement parallel PDE solvers. Examples throughout the book are intentionally kept simple so that the parallelization strategies are not dominated by technical details.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications PARALLEL SOLUTION OF PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS is based on the proceedings of a workshop with the same title. The work shop was an integral part of the 1996-97IMA program on "MATHEMAT ICS IN HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING." I would like to thank Petter Bj0rstad of the Institutt for Informatikk, University of Bergen and Mitchell Luskin of the School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota for their excellent work as organizers of the meeting and for editing the proceedings. I also take this opportunity to thank the National Science Founda tion (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), and the Army Research Office (ARO), whose financial support made the workshop possible. Willard Miller, Jr., Professor and Director v PREFACE The numerical solution of partial differential equations has been of major importance to the development of many technologies and has been the target of much of the development of parallel computer hardware and software. Parallel computers offer the promise of greatly increased perfor mance and the routine calculation of previously intractable problems. The papers in this volume were presented at the IMA workshop on the Paral lel Solution of PDE held during June 9-13, 1997. The workshop brought together leading numerical analysts, computer scientists, and engineers to assess the state-of-the-art and to consider future directions.

A gentle introduction to advanced topics such as parallel computing, multigrid methods, and special methods for systems of PDEs. The goal of all chapters is to ‘compute’ solutions to problems, hence algorithmic and software issues play a central role. All software examples use the Diffpack programming environment - some experience with Diffpack is required. There are also some chapters covering complete applications, i.e., the way from a model, expressed as systems of PDEs, through to discretization methods, algorithms, software design, verification, and computational examples. Suitable for readers with a background in basic finite element and finite difference methods for partial differential equations.

Presents an easy-to-read discussion of domain decomposition algorithms, their implementation and analysis. Ideal for graduate students about to embark on a career in computational science. It will also be a valuable resource for all those interested in parallel computing and numerical computational methods.

A new class of methods, termed "group explicit methods," is introduced in this text. Their applications to solve parabolic, hyperbolic and elliptic equations are outlined, and the advantages for their implementation on parallel computers clearly portrayed. Also included are the introductory and fundamental concepts from which the new methods are derived, and on which they are dependent. With the increasing advent of parallel computing into all aspects of computational mathematics, there is no doubt that the new methods will be widely used.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This easy-to-read book introduces the basics of solving partial differential equations by means of finite difference methods. Unlike many of the traditional academic works on the topic, this book was written for practitioners. Accordingly, it especially addresses: the construction of finite difference schemes, formulation and implementation of algorithms, verification of implementations, analyses of physical behavior as implied by the numerical solutions, and how to apply the methods and software to solve problems in the fields of physics and biology.