Fast Calculation of the Lomb-Scargle Periodogram Using Graphics Processing Units
Abstract
I introduce a new code for fast calculation of the Lomb-Scargle periodogram that leverages the computing power of graphics processing units (GPUs). After establishing a background to the newly emergent field of GPU computing, I discuss the code design and narrate key parts of its source. Benchmarking calculations indicate no significant differences in accuracy compared to an equivalent CPU-based code. However, the differences in performance are pronounced; running on a low-end GPU, the code can match eight CPU cores, and on a high-end GPU it is faster by a factor approaching 30. Applications of the code include analysis of long photometric time series obtained by ongoing satellite missions and upcoming ground-based monitoring facilities, and Monte Carlo simulation of periodogram statistical properties.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
- Pub Date:
- December 2010
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0067-0049/191/2/247
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1007.1658
- Bibcode:
- 2010ApJS..191..247T
- Keywords:
-
- methods: data analysis;
- methods: numerical;
- techniques: photometric;
- stars: oscillations;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Accepted by ApJ. Accompanying program source (updated since acceptance) can be downloaded from http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~townsend/resource/download/code/culsp.tar.gz