Numerical relativity is the most established application making use of Cactus, and the framework was originally designed by this community to satisfy their requirements: large-scale simulations, collaborative development and use, large data sets, advanced visualization, etc.

For more information on Numerical Relativity applications please see the Albert Einstein Institute numerical relativity pages.

CactusEinstein

Cactus is released with an arrangement of thorns called CactusEinstein, providing core infrastructure for numerical relativity. These thorns provide evolution methods, analysis tools, initial data, etc. However, more importantly, the Einstein arrangement defines and uses a set of standards, which enables better co-working of thorns, and hence enables collaborations between different groups.

Arrangement description CactusEinstein mailing list archive Visualization Numerical relativity publications based on Cactus Numerical relativity FAQ Specifications and Proposals SpaceMask (Oct 2002)

Change Over to New Einstein

A revamped set of thorns for Numerical Relativity was provided with the Beta 12 release. This new version was designed to remove some of the legacy features of the original set of thorns, and to move towards providing a core set of functionality for numerical relativity, enabling better sharing and testing of thorns etc.

• ThornList for new Einstein arrangement: This thornlist includes all thorns from Einstein, plus many additional thorns from the standard Cactus release which are useful for getting up and running quickly with the Einstein thorns.
• Initial Specification
• Conversion Guide
• New ThornGuide for CactusEinstein (May 16, 2002)