saclay-format 0.2.1

python parser and usefull script related to the saclay format

Saclay_format (v0.2.1)

This repository contains a proposal format definition to exchange inputs/outputs between some mean-field theory codes in the nuclear physics and astrophysics communities. This format relies on a series of custom binary files containing the raw data along with a YAML header containing metadata. It adheres to the results of the 05/2025 and 10/2025 ESNT workshops entitled "Simulating dense matter on three-dimensional coordinate space meshes (part I and II)".

Content

• saclay_format — Python3 package to parse and visualize this format
• docs — documentation of the format (not yet up to date)
• examples — nuclear mean-field outputs in this format
• tests — unit tests of the package (not yet up to date)

Requirements

• pyyaml — Python3 package for YAML parsing
• h5py — Python3 package for HDF5 parsing

Running the parser

From a Python terminal, import the parser module and use its read() and write() methods. To see the expected structure of the data dictionary, check the create_dummy_data() function in tests/test_saclay_format.py.

Example:

cd tests/
python3 test_saclay_format.py

Examples

Example structure

examples/20Ne_bcs/
├── 20Ne_rho_n.wdat
├── 20Ne_state
├── 20Ne.h5
├── 20Ne.yaml
└── README.md

examples/alpha_alpha_3MeV/
├── reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_header.yml
├── reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_rho_n.bin
├── reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_rho_p.bin
├── README_visualisation_convert.md
└── script_test.convert.sh

examples/Ca40_ev8/
├── Ca40_HF_SLy4.yaml
├── Ca40_HF_SLy4_*.dat
└── README_test.md

Conversion test

python3 ../../saclay_format/hdf5_yaml_converter.py -h5 Ca40_HF_SLy4.yaml
python3 ../../saclay_format/ev8_to_ev1.py Ca40_HF_SLy4.h5 -o Ca40_HF_SLy4_ev1.h5
python3 ../../saclay_format/ev1_to_cr1.py Ca40_HF_SLy4_ev1.h5 -o Ca40_HF_SLy4_cr1.h5

Visualization test

Static:

python3 ../../saclay_format/visualisation_rho.py reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_header.yml

Dynamic:

python3 ../../saclay_format/visualisation_rho_TD.py -H reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_header.yml

Conversion and round-trip test:

python3 ../../saclay_format/hdf5_yaml_converter.py -h5 reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_header.yml
mv reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_header.h5 reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_converted.h5
python3 ../../saclay_format/visualisation_rho_TD.py reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_converted.h5
python3 ../../saclay_format/hdf5_yaml_converter.py -yaml reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_converted.h5
python3 ../../saclay_format/visualisation_rho_TD.py reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_converted.yaml
rm reaction_alpha_alpha_3MeV_converted*

Todo

• Test the format
• Add documentation
• Update unit tests

Project layout

This project follows the structure recommended by the Hitchhiker’s Guide to Python:
https://docs.python-guide.org/writing/structure