Data parallel simulations of the magnetohydrodynamics of plasma loops

We developed a data parallel code written in High Performance Fortran for simulating magnetized fluid flow in thermonuclear fusion devices and solar coronal loops. We compare execution times on a variety of architectures for physically realistic applications.-In particular, we quote times measured for high resolution runs on a vector (Cray C90) and several distributed memory parallel architectures (cluster of workstations, CM-5, IBM SP2, Gray T3D, Gray T3E). On all parallel platforms, we demonstrate almost linear speedup. Our implementation is designed to study small-scale phenomena occuring on intermediate and long time scales in magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Examples for both are provided: resonantly driven coronal loops where dissipative layers form on the Alfven time scale, and cylindrical magnetohydrodynamic configurations which are unstable on a resistive time scale with respect to helical deformations.