The DiRAC-2.5y Facility
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leicester
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Physicists across the astronomy, nuclear and particle physics communities are focussed
on understanding how the Universe works at a very fundamental level. The distance scales
with which they work vary by 50 orders of magnitude from the smallest distances probed
by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, deep within the atomic
nucleus, to the largest scale galaxy clusters discovered out in space. The Science challenges,
however, are linked through questions such as: How did the Universe begin and how is it evolving?
and What are the fundamental constituents and fabric of the Universe and how do they interact?
Progress requires new astronomical observations and experimental data but also
new theoretical insights. Theoretical understanding comes increasingly from large-scale
computations that allow us to confront the consequences of our theories very accurately
with the data or allow us to interrogate the data in detail to extract information that has
impact on our theories. These computations test the fastest computers that we have and
push the boundaries of technology in this sector. They also provide an excellent
environment for training students in state-of-the-art techniques for code optimisation and
data mining and visualisation.
The DiRAC2 HPC facility has been operating since 2012, providing computing resources for theoretical research
in all areas of particle physics, astronomy, cosmology and nuclear physics supported by STFC. It is a highly productive
facility, generating 200-250 papers annually in international, peer-reviewed journals. However, the DiRAC facility risks becoming uncompetitive as it has remained static in terms of overall capability since 2012. The DiRAC-2.5x investment in 2017/18 mitigated the risk of hardware failures, by replacing our oldest hardware components. However, as the factor 5 oversubscription of the most recent RAC call demonstrated, the science programme in 2019/20 and beyond requires a significant uplift in DiRAC's compute capability. The main purpose of the requested funding for the DiRAC2.5y project is to provide a factor 2 increase in computing across all DiRAC services to enable the facility to remain competitive during 2019/20 in anticipation of future funding for DiRAC-3.
DiRAC2.5y builds on the success of the DiRAC HPC facility and will provide the resources needed to support cutting-edge research
during 2019 in all areas of science supported by STFC. While the funding is required to remain competitive, the science programme will continue to be world-leading. Examples of the projects which will benefit from this investment include:
(i) lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) calculations of the properties of fundamental particles from first principles;
(ii) improving the potential of experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider for discovery of new physics by increasing the accuracy of theoretical predictions for rare processes involving the fundamental constituents of matter known as quarks;
(iii) simulations of the merger of pairs of black holes amnwhich generate gravitational waves such as those recently discovered by the LIGO consortium;
(iv) the most realistic simulations to date of the formation and evolution of galaxies in the Universe;
(v) the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes, the most efficient means of extracting energy from matter and the engine which drives galaxy evolution;
(vi) new models of our own Milky Way galaxy calibrated using new data from the European Space Agency's GAIA satellite;
(vii) detailed simulations of the interior of the sun and of planetary interiors;
(viii) the formation of stars in clusters - for the first time it will be possible to follow the formation of massive stars.
on understanding how the Universe works at a very fundamental level. The distance scales
with which they work vary by 50 orders of magnitude from the smallest distances probed
by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, deep within the atomic
nucleus, to the largest scale galaxy clusters discovered out in space. The Science challenges,
however, are linked through questions such as: How did the Universe begin and how is it evolving?
and What are the fundamental constituents and fabric of the Universe and how do they interact?
Progress requires new astronomical observations and experimental data but also
new theoretical insights. Theoretical understanding comes increasingly from large-scale
computations that allow us to confront the consequences of our theories very accurately
with the data or allow us to interrogate the data in detail to extract information that has
impact on our theories. These computations test the fastest computers that we have and
push the boundaries of technology in this sector. They also provide an excellent
environment for training students in state-of-the-art techniques for code optimisation and
data mining and visualisation.
The DiRAC2 HPC facility has been operating since 2012, providing computing resources for theoretical research
in all areas of particle physics, astronomy, cosmology and nuclear physics supported by STFC. It is a highly productive
facility, generating 200-250 papers annually in international, peer-reviewed journals. However, the DiRAC facility risks becoming uncompetitive as it has remained static in terms of overall capability since 2012. The DiRAC-2.5x investment in 2017/18 mitigated the risk of hardware failures, by replacing our oldest hardware components. However, as the factor 5 oversubscription of the most recent RAC call demonstrated, the science programme in 2019/20 and beyond requires a significant uplift in DiRAC's compute capability. The main purpose of the requested funding for the DiRAC2.5y project is to provide a factor 2 increase in computing across all DiRAC services to enable the facility to remain competitive during 2019/20 in anticipation of future funding for DiRAC-3.
DiRAC2.5y builds on the success of the DiRAC HPC facility and will provide the resources needed to support cutting-edge research
during 2019 in all areas of science supported by STFC. While the funding is required to remain competitive, the science programme will continue to be world-leading. Examples of the projects which will benefit from this investment include:
(i) lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) calculations of the properties of fundamental particles from first principles;
(ii) improving the potential of experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider for discovery of new physics by increasing the accuracy of theoretical predictions for rare processes involving the fundamental constituents of matter known as quarks;
(iii) simulations of the merger of pairs of black holes amnwhich generate gravitational waves such as those recently discovered by the LIGO consortium;
(iv) the most realistic simulations to date of the formation and evolution of galaxies in the Universe;
(v) the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes, the most efficient means of extracting energy from matter and the engine which drives galaxy evolution;
(vi) new models of our own Milky Way galaxy calibrated using new data from the European Space Agency's GAIA satellite;
(vii) detailed simulations of the interior of the sun and of planetary interiors;
(viii) the formation of stars in clusters - for the first time it will be possible to follow the formation of massive stars.
Planned Impact
The anticipated impact of the DiRAC2.5y HPC facility aligns closely with the recently published UK Industrial Strategy. As such, many of our key impacts will be driven by our engagements with industry. Each service provider for DiRAC2.5y has a local industrial strategy to deliver increased levels of industrial returns over the next three years.
The "Pathways to impact" document which is attached to this proposal describes the overall industrial strategy for the DiRAC facility, including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
The "Pathways to impact" document which is attached to this proposal describes the overall industrial strategy for the DiRAC facility, including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
Organisations
Publications
Gourgouliatos K
(2017)
Reconfinement and loss of stability in jets from active galactic nuclei
in Nature Astronomy
Gourgouliatos K
(2017)
Magnetic Axis Drift and Magnetic Spot Formation in Neutron Stars with Toroidal Fields
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gourgouliatos K
(2018)
Relativistic centrifugal instability
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Reid J
(2018)
Coronal energy release by MHD avalanches: continuous driving
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wareing C
(2018)
A new mechanical stellar wind feedback model for the Rosette Nebula
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goldsmith K
(2018)
A comparison of shock-cloud and wind-cloud interactions: effect of increased cloud density contrast on cloud evolution
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pittard J
(2018)
Colliding stellar winds structure and X-ray emission
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mahler G
(2019)
RELICS: Strong Lensing Analysis of MACS J0417.5-1154 and Predictions for Observing the Magnified High-redshift Universe with JWST
in The Astrophysical Journal
Thob A
(2019)
The relationship between the morphology and kinematics of galaxies and its dependence on dark matter halo structure in EAGLE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Baugh C
(2019)
Galaxy formation in the Planck Millennium: the atomic hydrogen content of dark matter haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moliné Á
(2019)
Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter Scenario
in Galaxies
Harvey D
(2019)
Observable tests of self-interacting dark matter in galaxy clusters: BCG wobbles in a constant density core
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ali A
(2019)
Massive star feedback in clusters: variation of the FUV interstellar radiation field in time and space
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Eilers A
(2019)
Anomaly in the Opacity of the Post-reionization Intergalactic Medium in the Lya and Lyß Forest
in The Astrophysical Journal
Monachesi A
(2019)
The Auriga stellar haloes: connecting stellar population properties with accretion and merging history
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rosito M
(2019)
Assembly of spheroid-dominated galaxies in the EAGLE simulation
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gray M
(2019)
Maser flare simulations from oblate and prolate clouds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rodríguez Montero F
(2019)
Mergers, starbursts, and quenching in the simba simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Shao S
(2019)
Evolution of galactic planes of satellites in the eagle simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nishimura (????) N
(2019)
Uncertainties in ?p-process nucleosynthesis from Monte Carlo variation of reaction rates
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Comerford T
(2019)
Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion by binary stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Meru F
(2019)
Is the ring inside or outside the planet?: the effect of planet migration on dust rings
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rhodin N
(2019)
The nature of strong H i absorbers probed by cosmological simulations: satellite accretion and outflows
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fletcher M
(2019)
Giant planets and brown dwarfs on wide orbits: a code comparison project
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Callingham T
(2019)
The mass of the Milky Way from satellite dynamics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Henden N
(2019)
The redshift evolution of X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich scaling relations in the fable simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bennett E
(2019)
Sp (4) gauge theories on the lattice: Nf = 2 dynamical fundamental fermions
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Humphries J
(2019)
Constraining the initial planetary population in the gravitational instability model
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ganeshaiah Veena P
(2019)
The Cosmic Ballet II: spin alignment of galaxies and haloes with large-scale filaments in the EAGLE simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Weinberger L
(2019)
Modelling the observed luminosity function and clustering evolution of Ly a emitters: growing evidence for late reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hernández-Aguayo C
(2019)
Large-scale redshift space distortions in modified gravity theories
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rosito M
(2019)
The mass-size plane of EAGLE galaxies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kruijssen J
(2019)
The E-MOSAICS project: tracing galaxy formation and assembly with the age-metallicity distribution of globular clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Friske J
(2019)
More than just a wrinkle: a wave-like pattern in Ug versus Lz from Gaia data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bahé Y
(2019)
Disruption of satellite galaxies in simulated groups and clusters: the roles of accretion time, baryons, and pre-processing
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kawata D
(2019)
Galactic rotation from Cepheids with Gaia DR2 and effects of non-axisymmetry
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cristini A
(2019)
Dependence of convective boundary mixing on boundary properties and turbulence strength
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Riley A
(2019)
The velocity anisotropy of the Milky Way satellite system
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chen S
(2019)
Quasifree Neutron Knockout from ^{54}Ca Corroborates Arising N=34 Neutron Magic Number.
in Physical review letters
Rosas-Guevara Y
(2019)
The abundances and properties of Dual AGN and their host galaxies in the EAGLE simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gurung-López S
(2019)
Lya emitters in a cosmological volume - I. The impact of radiative transfer
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lander S
(2019)
Magnetic-field evolution in a plastically failing neutron-star crust
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Teodoro L
(2019)
Planetary giant impacts: convergence of high-resolution simulations using efficient spherical initial conditions and swift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gourgouliatos K
(2019)
Nonaxisymmetric Hall instability: A key to understanding magnetars
in Physical Review Research
Maltman K
(2019)
Current Status of inclusive hadronic tau determinations of |V_us|
in SciPost Physics Proceedings
Mayne N
(2019)
The Limits of the Primitive Equations of Dynamics for Warm, Slowly Rotating Small Neptunes and Super Earths
in The Astrophysical Journal
Nixon C
(2019)
What is wrong with steady accretion discs?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rose T
(2019)
Deep and narrow CO absorption revealing molecular clouds in the Hydra-A brightest cluster galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society