Neighbour lists in smoothed particle hydrodynamics

Since smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is based on interactions with the closer neighbouring particles, implementing the neighbour list is a key point in terms of the high performance of the code. The efficiency of the method depends directly on how to build and use the neighbour list. In the present work, the available searching algorithms for SPH codes are analyzed. Different gridding algorithms are evaluated, the gains in efficiency obtained from reordering of particles is investigated and the cell‐linked list and Verlet list methods are studied to create the neighbour list. Furthermore, an innovative searching procedure based on a dynamic updating of the Verlet list is proposed. The efficiency of the algorithms is analyzed in terms of computational time and memory requirements. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.