In the framework of the Programmes Transversaux de Compétences (PTC or literally Cross-XXX Programme), the DES/ISAS/DM2S/SERMA/LLPR and the CEA-DIF are both working on the porting of deterministic neutron transport codes on GPU.

The DM2S within the Energies Direction (DES) is responsible for research and development activities on the numerical methods and codes for reactor physics, amongst which the APOLLO3® code. The neutronics laboratory of CEA-DIF is responsible for developing tools for deterministic methods in neutronics for the Simulation programme.

These two laboratories are actively preparing for the advent of new generation of supercomputers where GPU (Graphical Processing Units) will be predominant. Indeed, the underlying numerical problems to be solved along with the working methodology as well as the conclusions and experience which will be obtained from such studies may be rationalised between both laboratories. Thus, this work has given rise to this postdoctoral position which will be common to both teams. The postdoctoral researcher will be formally based at SERMA at CEA Saclay, with nevertheless regular meetings with the CEA-DIF scientists.

The postdoctoral research work is to study the acceleration of a toy model of a 3D discrete ordinates diamond-differencing sweep kernel (DSN) by porting the code on GPU. This work hinges on porting experiments which have previously been carried by both teams following two different approaches: a ‘’high-level’’ one based on the Kokkos framework for DES and a ‘’low-level’’ approach based on Cuda for CEA-DIF.