Py-SPHViewer

Py-SPHViewer is a parallel Python package designed for visualizing and exploring N-body and hydrodynamics simulations using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) scheme. The package estimates an underlying scalar field (such as the density field) traced by a finite number of particles, producing not only visually appealing images but also scientifically valuable insights.

Additionally, Py-SPHViewer allows users to explore simulated volumes through various projections.

Intensive calculations are executed in parallel using C code, which requires OpenMP. As with any Python package, it can be used interactively in a Python shell, IPython, or Jupyter Notebook.

Installation Instructions

The latest stable version of Py-SPHViewer is typically available on the Python Package Index (or PyPI for short). This is the easiest method to get Py-SPHViewer running on your system, and we encourage users to follow this approach:

pip install py-sphviewer --user

The development version is available on GitHub.

To clone, compile, and install this version, use the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/alejandrobll/py-sphviewer.git
cd py-sphviewer
python setup.py install

Licensing and Citation Information

Py-SPHViewer is licensed under the GNU GPL v3 and was initiated by Alejandro Benitez-Llambay. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty.

Individuals or organizations that use Py-SPHViewer are encouraged to cite the code.

If Py-SPHViewer has significantly contributed to a research project leading to a publication, please acknowledge it by citing the project and using the following DOI as a reference:

Alejandro Benitez-Llambay. (2015). py-sphviewer: Py-SPHViewer v1.0.0. Zenodo. 10.5281/zenodo.21703

You may also use the following BibTeX entry:

@misc{alejandro_benitez_llambay_2015_21703,
  author       = {Alejandro Benitez-Llambay},
  title        = {py-sphviewer: Py-SPHViewer v1.0.0},
  month        = jul,
  year         = 2015,
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.21703},
  url          = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21703}
}

Some scientific papers that have utilized Py-SPHViewer are listed at the end of this page.

Tutorials

The tutorials below will give you a good overview of what Py-SPHViewer is capable of:

• Using QuickView
• Using different projections
• Streamlines of N-body simulations with Py-SPHViewer
• Smooth Camera
• Blending images

If you prefer to get started with Py-SPHViewer first and explore the tutorials later, please continue reading below:

Getting started

To get started with Py-SPHViewer, please check the available examples in the Tutorials section. One of the simplest examples that demonstrates the power of Py-SPHViewer is as follows:

Download this HDF5 file and run:

import h5py
from sphviewer.tools import QuickView

with h5py.File('darkmatter_box.h5py','r') as f:
    pdrk = f['PartType1/Coordinates'].value

QuickView(pdrk, r='infinity')

which produces the following image:

The result is very impressive given the low-resolution of the simulated volume (only 32768 dark matter particles).

High-resolution cosmological simulations might result in extremely amusing results, such as the one shown in the next video:

More Technical Details

Some more technical details about Py-SPHViewer can be found in the following link:

• VIRGO meeting 2018, Leiden