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The OPAL Framework
(Object Oriented Parallel Accelerator Library)
OPAL 2.0.0
User’s Reference Manual

Andreas Adelmann, Christian Baumgarten, Matthias Frey, Achim Gsell, Valeria Rizzoglio, Jochem Snuverink (PSI) Christof Metzger-Kraus, Yves Ineichen, Xiaoying Pang, Steve Russell (LANL), Chuan Wang, Jianjun Yang (CIAE), Suzanne Sheehy, Chris Rogers (RAL) and Daniel Winklehner (MIT)

Abstract

OPAL is a tool for charged-particle optics in accelerator structures and beam lines. Using the MAD language with extensions, OPAL is derived from MAD9P and is based on the CLASSIC class library, which was started in 1995 by an international collaboration. IPPL (Independent Parallel Particle Layer) is the framework which provides parallel particles and fields using data parallel ansatz. OPAL is built from the ground up as a parallel application exemplifying the fact that HPC (High Performance Computing) is the third leg of science, complementing theory and the experiment. HPC is made possible now through the increasingly sophisticated mathematical models and evolving computer power available on the desktop and in super computer centres. OPAL runs on your laptop as well as on the largest HPC clusters available today.

The OPAL framework makes it easy to add new features in the form of new C++ classes. It comes in the following flavours:

  • OPAL-cycl: tracks particles with 3D space charge including neighbouring turns in cyclotrons and FFAG’s with time as the independent variable.

  • OPAL-t: can be used to model beam lines, linacs, rf-photo injectors and complete XFEL’s excluding the undulator.

It should be noted that not all features of OPAL are available in all flavours. The icon DOPAL-t means that a feature is not yet available in OPAL-t. Similar icons are used for the other flavours.