Title: Eigensolvers in Condensed Matter Physics, Condensed Matter Physics in Eigensolvers

Speaker: Jonathan Moussa, University of Texas at Austin

Date/Time: Tuesday, March 29, 2011, 9:30 am       

Location: CSRI Building/Room 90 (Sandia NM)

Brief Abstract: Condensed matter physics is a significant consumer of eigensolver technology, mainly incorporated into density functional theory codes for the purpose of enabling larger and longer simulations. This exchange might benefit from increased reciprocity - many powerful physical  ideas developed in the last century could more broadly impact scientific computation (and more specifically eigensolving) if recast into a sufficiently rigorous mathematical form, amenable to thorough analysis.

Development along these lines might be described as a 3-stage process:

(1)  Identify a physical idea,
(2)  Construct and analyze an elementary operation inspired by the idea, and
(3)  Organize multiple operations into a useful algorithm. 

This talk will discuss 3 parallel paths of development, each at a different stage: an iterative eigensolver based on time evolution and Fourier analysis (3rd stage), a direct banded eigensolver based on Wannier functions (2nd stage), and scarcity-preserving matrix factorization based on scaling and self-similarity (1st stage).

CSRI POC: Peter Schultz, 505-845-7771 and Richard Muller 505-284-3669