Case Study: Princeton University achieves breakthrough 3D supernova simulations with Altair PBS Professional

University Researchers Advance Space Science with Argonne HPC Resources

Princeton University astrophysicists, led by Adam Burrows, needed to move supernova modeling from limited 1D runs to fully realistic 3D simulations—a jump that multiplies computational complexity and demands massive, GPU‑accelerated HPC resources. To orchestrate these large, heterogeneous jobs on Argonne’s Polaris system, the team used Altair and its Altair PBS Professional solution for automated job scheduling, management, monitoring, and reporting.

Altair’s PBS Professional enabled efficient workload management on Polaris, letting Princeton run the largest collection of sophisticated 3D supernova simulations to date and extend simulated physical time from about 0.5 seconds to over 4 seconds in some cases. The result is more realistic exploding models that advance efforts to build a comprehensive core‑collapse standard model and improve predictions of element production in supernovae.

Princeton University

Adam Burrows

Astrophysicist