Project ingredients
From Modesta
The MUSE software environment will consists of 4 main ingredients: the scheduler, stellar evolution, hydro dynamics and stellar dynamics.
- The scheduler:
Currently two versions are in development. One is written in C++ the other in the Python scripting language. The scheduler has two main tasks: 1) schedule various events in the right order and 2) provide diagnostics for the global output. The scheduler is really the hard of the code and is responsible for proper functioning of the entire code. We decided to write the scheduler in the scripting language Python (with a separate implementation in C++), because it has a wide user-base among observers and theorists, also in other disciplines.
- The stellar evolution:
At the moment we have two simple stellar evolution prescriptions which will be embedded in MUSE. Both are fitting functions to detailed stellar evolution tracks. Eventually, we hope to include a full stellar evolution code in MUSE.
- The hydro dynamics:
At the moment MUSE incorporates stellar collisions by rather simple recipes only. One of them is a simple sticky-sphere approach, whereas the more elaborate entropy sorting is used as a second implementation. Currently there is no full hydro in MUSE. Eventually it would be nice if there is some way in which diffuse gas between the star could be taken into account self consistently.
- The stellar dynamics:
Currently there is one direct N-body integrator in MUSE, which is based on a Hermite 4-th order scheme. At the moment we are working on various additional integrators.
- Radiative transfer
At this moment there are plans to include a radiatrion transfer module. In this module density grids (generated by the SPH/hydro) are used on time instantanizations to follow the evolution of the photoinised gas/dust contiuum and emission line spectra as calculated by an independent SPH (or grid-based hydro code). The temperatures/pressures calculated by the photo/radiation transfer module will be fed back in the hydro.
