The Kratos Framework for Heterogeneous Astrophysical Simulations: Fundamental Infrastructures and Hydrodynamics

Abstract The field of astrophysics has long sought computational tools capable of harnessing the power of modern GPUs to simulate the complex dynamics of astrophysical phenomena. The Kratos Framework, a novel GPU-based simulation system designed to leverage heterogeneous computing architectures, is introduced to address these challenges. Kratos offers a flexible and efficient platform for a wide range of astrophysical simulations, by including its device abstraction layer, multiprocessing communication model, and mesh-management system that serves as the foundation for the physical module container. Focusing on the hydrodynamics module as an example and foundation for more complex simulations, optimizations and adaptations have been implemented for heterogeneous devices that allow for accurate and fast computations, especially the mixed-precision method that maximizes its efficiency on consumer-level GPUs while holding the conservation laws to machine accuracy. The performance and accuracy of Kratos are verified through a series of standard hydrodynamic benchmarks, demonstrating its potential as a powerful tool for astrophysical research.