On this page is a series of instructions on how to visualize data from AstroBEAR in the software VisIt in particularly fancy ways. The instructions and examples are from the data concerning our ​CollidingFlows high resolution runs located on BlueHive2 through Erica and Marissa's accounts. These techniques may potentially be useful to observe other types of physics.

Initial Steps

0. Import the data sets you want to visualize.
1. Create a new database correlation, so that when your movie plays, all of the data sets play together. Open Controls > Database correlations… > New …
   • Select the sources from step 0.
   • Select the arrow to indicate that you want them to be a correlated source.
   • Rename the correlation if you'd like. For instance in my correlation below (Active time slider), I've renamed it NoShear3DCDM.
   • Click create database correlation.
   • In the first window that popped up, click apply. Now you have your data base correlation.
2. Input your pseudocolor plots: Add + > Pseudocolor. Now choose you corresponding data set. In my example, I have chosen mass1, mass2 and mass3 (see Figure 1).
3. Your data sets should be green, indicating that they are ready to be drawn (see Figure 1). While VisIt is drawing, they will be yellow. If it cannot drawn them, they will be red.
4. If you are already familiar with visualizing the data set you're attempting to make a new fancy simulation of, it might be worth your time to adjust the colorbar and switch it to a log plot. This way one doesn't forget after making a movie. In my examples I'll have the legends turned off, and the color bar will have a minimum of 60 and maximum of 2000 (as a log plot).

Figure 1. Initial set up on correlating the data sets in Visit. Note they are indicated as ready to draw by the green font. They are correlated as indicated by the active time slider. The specific source being dealt with can be manipulated by changing the active source (current is mass3_along_3_*.bov).

Hints and Suggestions: While doing these steps you may want to make heavy use of hiding and showing each dataset as you go. Depending on how big your data set is, it can be quite computationally intensive.

3D Column Density Map (CDM) Plots

Column density maps integrate the density over the time interval for which your run was produced along each axis. Essentially you see whatever you plan to simulate evolves with time as some sort of kinematic cross section down x, y or z axis. One can create a "corner" or 3D box figure of these cross sections that we call column density maps, as illustrated by Figures 6 and 7. The procedure is like so:

1. Hide all but one data set. Go to operators ± > Transforms > Elevate. Ensure that you elevate with zero height as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Prior to drawing mass1, we are going to elevate it with zero height.

Figure 3. The following result of elevating with zero height. You have a slice that you can manipulate and rotate with the mouse in your window.

2. Now we can going to transform this plane: Operators ± > Transform > Transform. Now you are faced with a series of tabs, or options: Arbitrary, Coordinate and Linear. You may need to use Arbitrary later on to align the sink particles on your .bov file, however for select the linear tab.

Figure 4. When you initially open up the transform operator on your slice. Again, your data set reverts back to being "ready to draw" green. The linear tab provides a series of inputs for a rotation matrix. For mass1, simple let it be projected by the identity matrix. The other two masses will require a different transform.

3. Now we are done with mass1. We will move onto mass2 (keeping mass3 hidden). Similarly see step 1 to elevate the .bov. Now we're going to transform it with the following matrix shown in Figure (as a series of row vectors): {(0, 0, 1, 0),(1, 0, 0, 0),(0, 1, 0, 0),(0, 0, 0, 1)}. Now draw mass2. It should align snug next to mass1 along the appropriate axis.

Figure 5.

Figure 6. The box is now complete

Figure 7. The final product at the 200th frame, where we can observe physical phenomena.

Projecting Sinks

Using Chombos

Using a Script