KAMEL - Kinetic plAsma response ModEL

KAMEL is a scientific computing framework for modeling plasma response to external magnetic perturbations in fusion plasmas.

Overview

The framework consists of three main codes:

1. KiLCA - Kinetic Linear Cylindrical Approximation, plasma response solver using finite Larmor radius formalism
2. KIM - KiLCA Integral Model using integral formalism for non-local plasma response
3. QL-Balance - Quasilinear 1D radial transport code including anomalous and electromagnetic diffusion for time-evolution studies

Requirements

System Dependencies

• CMake 3.24+ and Ninja build system
• Fortran compiler (gfortran 10+ or ifort)
• C/C++ compiler (gcc/g++ 10+ or clang/clang++)
• MPI (MPICH or OpenMPI)
• HDF5 with Fortran bindings
• LAPACK/BLAS - Linear algebra
• Python 3.8+ with pip

Optional System Dependencies

• SuperLU (sparse matrix solver, used by KIM if found)
• Doxygen (for documentation generation)

Auto-Fetched Libraries

The following are automatically downloaded and built if not found on the system:

• GSL - GNU Scientific Library
• SuiteSparse - Sparse matrix operations (UMFPACK)
• SUNDIALS - Numerical differential equation solvers
• NetCDF - Network Common Data Form (with Fortran bindings)
• LAPACK/BLAS - Fallback if not found on system

Bundled Libraries (built from source)

• slatec - Special functions and ODE solvers (common/math/)
• libcerf - Complex error function (KIM/src/math/)

Python Dependencies

• numpy, scipy, h5py, f90nml, matplotlib

Compilation

# Build all three codes (Release mode by default)
make all

# Build in Debug mode
CONFIG=Debug make all

# Build individual components
make KiLCA
make KIM
make QL-Balance

# Clean build
make clean

Note: External dependencies (LAPACK, SuiteSparse, GSL, SUNDIALS) are automatically downloaded and built during the first compilation if not found on the system.

To pin libneo to a specific branch, tag, or commit, pass -DLIBNEO_REF=<ref> to cmake or LIBNEO_REF=<ref> to make. To use a local checkout instead of fetching, pass -DLIBNEO_PATH=<dir> / LIBNEO_PATH=<dir>.

System-wide Installation

To install KIM so it can be run from anywhere as kim:

# Step 1: Build and prepare KIM
make install-kim

# Step 2: Follow the instructions displayed, which will show:
sudo ln -sf /path/to/KAMEL/build/install/bin/KIM.x /usr/local/bin/kim

Alternatively, you can add an alias to your shell configuration file (.bashrc, .zshrc, etc.):

alias kim='/path/to/KAMEL/build/install/bin/KIM.x'

Tested Configurations

• Apple Silicon: clang 16.0 + gfortran 14.2
• Debian/Ubuntu: GNU compiler 12.2.0

Quick Start

# 1. Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/itpplasma/KAMEL.git
cd KAMEL

# 2. Build all codes
make all

# 3. Install Python interface
cd python && make init && make install

# 4. Run tests
make test

Project Structure

• /KiLCA/ - Finite Larmor radius plasma response solver
• /KIM/ - Integral formalism plasma response solver
• /QL-Balance/ - Quasilinear transport code (supports KiLCA and KIM wave codes)
• /PreProc/ - Preprocessing utilities (fouriermodes, neo-2 templates)
• /python/ - Python interface (KAMELpy) for all codes
• /common/ - Shared utilities: equilibrium handling, math libraries, logger

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.