Navigating the Sirepo Simulations Interface

Opening a simulation

To begin working with a simulation, you either need to create one (by importing a file or creating one from scratch using the New Simulation tab on your home screen) or use an example simulation.

In the latter case, simply double click on the file of the simulation you want. That will open the simulation.

When this happens, you’ll see the name of the simulation on the top bar, next to Simulations. In the example above, it is the Compact Storage Ring.

From here, you can dive into an individual simulation. Either through a preinstalled example or by uploading one of your own.

Tabs in a simulation

Once you open a simulation, you access controls to manipulate it. These are categorized into a few main tabs. For our example, we’re using the elegant simulation for a compact storage ring.

In it, you have tabs named Source, Lattice, Control, and Visualization. Each of these control some input or output of your simulation.

Source tab

The Source tab is where you set the parameters of your source, such as the specifics of your particle bunch. For the Compact Storage Ring, you also see plots of different phase spaces.

Lattice tab

The Lattice tab contains your Lattice CSR, Beamline Editor, Beamline, and Beamline Elements. All of which you can change and to suit the needs of your experiment.

Control tab

The Control tab displays your accelerator controls and allows you to change commands and variables with simple drag-and-drop functionality.

Visualization tab

The Visualization tab lets you do a few things. First, it is where you run your simulation. When you have not run any simulations in the app, the only window displayed in the Visualization tab is Simulation Status.

After you choose your beamline, you can click on Start New Simulation. This will run the simulation you set up, including all parameters.

Once completed, it will show you the elapsed time and any warnings.

It will also display plots of designated outputs. Below is an example from the Compact Storage Ring example simulation in Sirepo/elegant.

Note that you can minimize these output reports by clicking on the carrot (^) symbol in the upper-right corner of the individual report box. You can also maximize them by clicking on the diagonal arrows next to the carrot.

To download copies of any output reports, simply click the Download button, which is indicated by a cloud. You may then choose the format.

Settings

The last element to be aware of is the Settings icon (a cog wheel).

In Settings, you can add a link to your own documentation for the current simulation. There is also a variety of export options available, like exporting as a zip file, a Python source, or a MAD-X lattice.

You can also make a copy of the simulation you’re working on. And if you’re working with an example simulation, you can discard any changes you’ve made and reset the example to its original parameters.

Additional reading:

• How Your Sirepo Workspace Works
• How to upload a lattice file