Nektar++: An open-source spectral/hp element framework
Comput. Phys. Commun., vol. 192, pp. 205–219 (2015)
@article{cantwell-2015,
title = {Nektar++: An open-source spectral/hp element framework},
author = {Cantwell, C. D. and Moxey, D. and Comerford, A. and Bolis, A. and Rocco, G. and Mengaldo, G. and de Grazia, D. and Yakovlev, S. and Lombard, J.-E. and Ekelschot, D. and Jordi, B. and Xu, H. and Mohamied, Y. and Eskilsson, C. and Nelson, B. and Vos, P. and Biotto, C. and Kirby, R. M. and Sherwin, S. J.},
journal = cpc,
volume = {192},
pages = {205--219},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1016/j.cpc.2015.02.008},
abstract = {Nektar++ is an open-source software framework designed to support the development of high-performance scalable solvers for partial differential equations using the spectral/hp element method. High-order methods are gaining prominence in several engineering and biomedical applications due to their improved accuracy at reduced computational cost. However, their proliferation is often limited by implementational complexity, which makes practically embracing these methods particularly challenging. Nektar++ is an initiative to overcome this limitation by encapsulating the mathematical complexities of the underlying method within an efficient C++ framework, making the techniques more accessible to the broader scientific and industrial communities for solving a range of problems. The software supports a variety of discretisation techniques and implementation strategies, supporting methods research as well as application-focused computation, and the multi-layered structure of the framework allows the user to embrace as much or as little of the complexity as they need. The libraries capture the mathematical constructs of spectracl/hp element methods, while the associated collection of pre-written PDE solvers provides out-of-the-box application-level functionality and a template for users who wish to develop solutions for addressing questions in their own scientific domains.},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010465515000533}
}
The paper introducing Nektar++, our open-source framework for building solvers for partial differential equations with the spectral/hp element method. Its purpose is to hide behind a C++ library the implementational complexity that has limited the uptake of high-order methods, with a layered structure so that users take on only as much of that complexity as they need, and a set of ready-written solvers to start from.
Abstract
Nektar++ is an open-source software framework designed to support the development of high-performance scalable solvers for partial differential equations using the spectral/hp element method. High-order methods are gaining prominence in several engineering and biomedical applications due to their improved accuracy at reduced computational cost. However, their proliferation is often limited by implementational complexity, which makes practically embracing these methods particularly challenging. Nektar++ is an initiative to overcome this limitation by encapsulating the mathematical complexities of the underlying method within an efficient C++ framework, making the techniques more accessible to the broader scientific and industrial communities for solving a range of problems. The software supports a variety of discretisation techniques and implementation strategies, supporting methods research as well as application-focused computation, and the multi-layered structure of the framework allows the user to embrace as much or as little of the complexity as they need. The libraries capture the mathematical constructs of spectracl/hp element methods, while the associated collection of pre-written PDE solvers provides out-of-the-box application-level functionality and a template for users who wish to develop solutions for addressing questions in their own scientific domains.