prad 0.1.0

GPU-accelerated proton radiography

GPU Proton Radiography Tracer

GPU-accelerated forward modelling of proton radiographs from magnetised plasma.

Runs the full Boris orbit through measured or simulated electromagnetic fields — not a paraxial approximation — and produces synthetic radiographs that can be directly compared to experimental RCF film data.

✓ 10/10 physics validation tests passing
✓ Reproducible, self-documenting run directories
✓ CLI + GUI workflows
✓ Re-render without re-tracing particles

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Example radiographs

Three MHD instability geometries, computed in seconds on a laptop GPU:

z-pinch	kink instability	sausage instability

Each image is a synthetic proton radiograph — the spatial structure directly reflects the path-integrated field topology.

GUI

Deck parameters, run status, and the 3D radiograph — all in one view.

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Why this tool

Proton radiography is sensitive to the path-integrated field, not just its peak value. The mapping from field structure to film pattern is nonlinear and depends on geometry — magnification, detector distance, source divergence. Paraxial approximations fail in the strong-field, large-deflection regimes common in modern pulsed-power experiments.

This tool runs the full Boris orbit, so you can:

• See where paraxial approximations break down and by how much
• Forward-model field topologies and compare directly to experimental films
• Design detector geometry before committing to a shot

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Quick start

# Build (also compiles shaders via build.rs)
cd rust && cargo build --release && cd ..

# Scaffold a working deck from a preset
./rust/target/release/proton_tracer init zpinch -o my_run.toml

# Inspect resolved geometry before running
./rust/target/release/proton_tracer explain my_run.toml

# Schema check
./rust/target/release/proton_tracer validate my_run.toml

# Run — produces a self-contained output directory
./rust/target/release/proton_tracer run my_run.toml -o runs/zpinch_01

macOS / MoltenVK — set these before running:

export VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/opt/homebrew/etc/vulkan/icd.d/MoltenVK_icd.json
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/homebrew/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

See docs/quickstart.md for the full install walkthrough.

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Subcommands

Command	Purpose
run <deck> [-o dir]	Batch run — GPU compute, full run directory output
gui [deck]	Interactive launcher with live progress
explain <deck>	Print resolved geometry and step budget — no GPU
validate <deck>	Schema check only — no GPU
init [preset] [-o deck.toml]	Emit a starter deck (blank / zpinch / kink-strong)
demo [preset]	Run a built-in preset without writing a deck
render <run_dir>	Re-render radiograph from saved counts — no GPU
sweep <deck> --param k=v1,v2	Parameter sweep — one run directory per point
inspect <run_dir|sweep_dir>	Print run or sweep summary
analyze <run_dir>	Count statistics

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Run directory layout

Every run produces a self-contained directory. Share it with a colleague and they can re-render or analyse without re-running anything.

runs/zpinch_01/
  input_deck.toml          ← exact copy of deck used
  resolved_config.json     ← fully resolved SI parameters
  metadata.json            ← hardware, git hash, field SHA-256, timing
  log.txt                  ← full terminal output mirror
  counts/
    raw_counts.bin         ← u32 [H×W] detector hit counts
    processed_counts.bin   ← f32 [H×W] after detector response
  images/
    radiograph.png

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Parameter sweeps

# Energy scan — four runs, zipped
proton_tracer sweep zpinch.toml \
  --param source.energy_MeV=5,10,15,20

# Range syntax
proton_tracer sweep zpinch.toml \
  --param source.energy_MeV=5:20:5

# Paired sweep — same-length lists, zipped
proton_tracer sweep zpinch.toml \
  --param source.energy_MeV=5,10,15 \
  --param numerics.max_steps=10000,20000,30000

Output: runs/sweep_001/ with one run directory per point and a live sweep_manifest.json.

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Validation

python3 validate.py           # uses existing binary
python3 validate.py --build   # build first, then validate

10 physics tests: B-only regression, zero-field straight-line projection, uniform E-field deflection (sign and magnitude), Boris energy conservation, pencil/point/disk source geometry, energy spread, Gaussian blur, Poisson noise reproducibility.

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Documentation

Doc	Contents
docs/quickstart.md	Full install → first run walkthrough
docs/geometry.md	Coordinate system, detector geometry, source types
docs/input_decks.md	TOML schema, all fields, --set overrides
docs/run_artifacts.md	Run directory anatomy and reproducibility
docs/file_formats.md	.bfld, binary count formats, metadata schema
docs/rendering.md	Counts → PNG pipeline, re-render without GPU
docs/sweeps.md	Parameter sweeps, syntax, sweep manifest
docs/validation.md	Physics test descriptions and tolerances
docs/gui.md	Deck launcher workflow
docs/limitations.md	Honest constraints and known gaps

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License

See LICENSE.