Vector Nonlinear Time-series Analysis of Gamma-ray Burst Datasets on Heterogeneous Clusters

Banicescu, I., Carino, R.L., Harvill, J. L., & Lestrade, J. P. (2005). Vector Nonlinear Time-series Analysis of Gamma-ray Burst Datasets on Heterogeneous Clusters. Scientific Programming. IOS Press. 13(2), 66-77.

The simultaneous analysis of a number of related datasets using a single statistical model is an important problem in statistical computing. A parameterized statistical model is to be fitted on multiple datasets and tested for goodness of fit within a fixed analytical framework. Definitive conclusions are hopefully achieved by analyzing the datasets together. This paper proposes a strategy for the efficient execution of this type of analysis on heterogeneous clusters. Based on partitioning processors into groups for efficient communications and a dynamic loop scheduling approach for load balancing, the strategy addresses the variability of the computational loads of the datasets, as well as the unpredictable irregularities of the cluster environment. Results from preliminary tests of using this strategy to fit gamma-ray burst time profiles with vector functional coefficient autoregressive models on 64 processors of a general purpose Linux cluster demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategy.