They found that even a slight magnetic field would change the behavior of the gases in the accretion disk and that this new behavior leads naturally to turbulence. This breakthrough was just the beginning. As computing power grew and the pair's algorithms increased in sophistication, they were able to create a series of increasingly complex simulations to model the process. With the help of Cray supercomputers at an NSF supercomputing center, they have succeeded in modeling a three-dimensional section of the disk, which seems to confirm their original ideas. The next step is to model the entire disk.
Computers also play an important role in helping the two scientists visualize their findings.
They employ three- dimensional images and video animation to interpret their raw data.