$\texttt{GPUmonty}$: A GPU-accelerated relativistic Monte Carlo radiative transfer code
Abstract
We introduce , a CUDA/C-based Monte Carlo radiative transfer code accelerated using graphics processing units (GPUs). derives from the CPU-based code and offloads the most computationally expensive stages of the calculation -- superphoton generation, sampling, tracking, and scattering -- to the GPU. Whereas handles photons sequentially, processes large numbers of superphotons concurrently, leveraging the single-instruction, multiple-thread (SIMT) execution model of modern GPUs. Benchmarks demonstrate a speedup of about relative to the original CPU implementation on a single GPU, with runtime limited primarily by register pressure rather than compute or memory bandwidth saturation. We validate the implementation through analytic tests for a optically thin synchrotron sphere, as well as comparisons with for scattering synchrotron sphere and GRMHD simulation data. Relative errors remain below a percent level and convergence is consistent with the expected Monte Carlo scaling. By significantly reducing computational costs, GPUmonty enables the extensive parameter space surveys and faster spectra modeling required to interpret horizon-scale observations of supermassive black holes. is publicly available under the GNU General Public License.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2602.13198,
title = {$\texttt{GPUmonty}$: A GPU-accelerated relativistic Monte Carlo radiative transfer code},
author = {Pedro Naethe Motta and Rodrigo Nemmen and Abhishek V. Joshi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.13198},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
12 pages, 6 figures and 1 table. V2: Minor textual changes. Published in ApJ