A Study of Hydrodynamics Based Community Codes in Astrophysics

Abstract

Advances in mathematical models and numerical algorithms for understanding multiphysics and multiscale phenomena have made software development for simulations a large and complex task. Development and adoption of community codes is one way to address this challenge. The astrophysics community has been ahead of many other science communities in making research codes publicly available and therefore has led the development and adoption of community codes. A study of publicly available software and their penetration in the research conducted by the community can provide important insight for other communities that are facing similar issues. In this paper we analyze software available in Astrophysics Source Code Library, focusing on simulations that include hydrodynamics. We use the citation history of these codes to gauge their impact on the community.