github.com/jeffersonlab/chroma ↗
The Chroma Software System for Lattice QCD
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Contributors
41
Lines of Code
33,311
From
2002-12-16
To
2020-12-16
About jeffersonlab/chroma
Chroma is a software system for Lattice QCD (Quantum Chromodynamics) simulations, written in C++. It provides a comprehensive framework for computational physics research focused on studying the strong nuclear force through lattice gauge theory calculations.
The system is built as a library that depends on two other components: QDP++ (a data-parallel programming abstraction for lattice QCD) and QMP (a message-passing interface for parallel computing). Chroma version 3.43 and later require QDP++ 1.44.0 or higher and QMP 2.X or higher, and the codebase uses modern C++ standards (C++11). The software supports both scalar (single-node) and parallel MPI-based implementations through different QDP++ configurations.
Users can build custom applications by creating main programs that link against the Chroma library. The system includes example test programs like t_mesplq, which demonstrates basic functionality by computing the average plaquette on randomly generated gauge fields. The build process uses autoconf-style configuration and separate build directories to keep source and compiled artifacts organized, making it suitable for researchers developing new lattice QCD algorithms or running production simulations on high-performance computing clusters.