Visualising computational simulation models of solid-state physical systems is a hard problem for dense lattice models. Fly throughs and cutaways and the use of translucent viewing cells can aid viewer understanding of a simulated system. Interactive time model parameter updates and overlaying of measurements and graticules, cluster colour labelling and other visual highlighting cues can also enhance user intuition of the model's meaning. We present some graphical and simulation optimisation techniques and various graphical rendering and explanatory techniques for computtaional simulation models such as the Ising model in three dimensions. In addition to aiding understanding of conventional algorithms such as Metropolis Monte-Carlo, we try to visualise cluster updates to the system using algorithms like that of Wolff. We also explore ways to visualise pathlength shortening and other changes to the Ising system when small-world link rewiring is applied to the system. We use a combination of OpenGL visualisation software and Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) and consider ways to accelerate both the simulation istself as well as the graphical rendering to make an interactive system for model sizes that are large enough to be both computationally challenging and visually feature-rich.
Keywords: visualisation; Ising model; lattice; transparency; instrumentation.
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