Edinburgh DiRAC Resource Grant
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
DiRAC (Distributed Research utilising Advanced Computing) is the integrated supercomputing facility for theoretical modelling and HPC-based research in particle physics, nuclear physics, astronomy and cosmology, areas in which the UK is world-leading. It was funded as a result of investment of £12.32 million, from the Government's Large Facilities Capital Fund, together with investment from STFC and from universities. In 2012, the DiRAC facility was upgraded with a further £15 million capital investment from government (DiRAC-2).
The DiRAC facility provides a variety of computer architectures, matching machine architecture to the algorithm design and requirements of the research problems to be solved. The science facilitated includes: using supercomputers to enable scientists to calculate what theories of the early universe predict and to test them against observations of the present universe; undertaking lattice field theory calculations whose primary aim is to increase the predictive power of the Standard Model of elementary particle interactions through numerical simulation of Quantum Chromodynamics; carrying out state-of-the-art cosmological simulations, including the large-scale distribution of dark matter, the formation of dark matter haloes, the formation and evolution of galaxies and clusters, the physics of the intergalactic medium and the properties of the intracluster gas.
This grant is to support the continued operation of the DiRAC facilities until 2017 to ensure that the UK remains one of the world-leaders of theoretical modelling in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology.
The DiRAC facility provides a variety of computer architectures, matching machine architecture to the algorithm design and requirements of the research problems to be solved. The science facilitated includes: using supercomputers to enable scientists to calculate what theories of the early universe predict and to test them against observations of the present universe; undertaking lattice field theory calculations whose primary aim is to increase the predictive power of the Standard Model of elementary particle interactions through numerical simulation of Quantum Chromodynamics; carrying out state-of-the-art cosmological simulations, including the large-scale distribution of dark matter, the formation of dark matter haloes, the formation and evolution of galaxies and clusters, the physics of the intergalactic medium and the properties of the intracluster gas.
This grant is to support the continued operation of the DiRAC facilities until 2017 to ensure that the UK remains one of the world-leaders of theoretical modelling in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology.
Planned Impact
The high-performance computing applications supported by DiRAC typically involve new algorithms and implementations optimised for high energy efficiency which impose demands on computer architectures that the computing industry has found useful for hardware and system software design and testing.
DiRAC researchers have on-going collaborations with computing companies that maintain this strong connection between the scientific goals of the DiRAC Consortium and the development of new computing technologies that drive the commercial high-performance computing market, with economic benefits to the companies involved and more powerful computing capabilities available to other application areas including many that address socio-economic challenges.
DiRAC researchers have on-going collaborations with computing companies that maintain this strong connection between the scientific goals of the DiRAC Consortium and the development of new computing technologies that drive the commercial high-performance computing market, with economic benefits to the companies involved and more powerful computing capabilities available to other application areas including many that address socio-economic challenges.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Richard Kenway (Principal Investigator) | |
| Peter Boyle (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Lee J
(2020)
Dual Effects of Ram Pressure on Star Formation in Multiphase Disk Galaxies with Strong Stellar Feedback
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kirchschlager F
(2023)
Dust survival rates in clumps passing through the Cas A reverse shock - II. The impact of magnetic fields
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coleman G
(2022)
Dusty circumbinary discs: inner cavity structures and stopping locations of migrating planets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Deason A
(2022)
Dwarf stellar haloes: a powerful probe of small-scale galaxy formation and the nature of dark matter
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Deason A
(2022)
Dwarf stellar haloes: a powerful probe of small-scale galaxy formation and the nature of dark matter
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Silva HO
(2021)
Dynamical Descalarization in Binary Black Hole Mergers.
in Physical review letters
Silva HO
(2021)
Dynamical Descalarization in Binary Black Hole Mergers.
in Physical review letters
Traykova D
(2021)
Dynamical friction from scalar dark matter in the relativistic regime
in Physical Review D
Traykova D
(2021)
Dynamical friction from scalar dark matter in the relativistic regime
in Physical Review D
Andrassy R
(2022)
Dynamics in a stellar convective layer and at its boundary: Comparison of five 3D hydrodynamics codes
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pandya A
(2022)
Dynamics of a nonminimally coupled scalar field in asymptotically AdS 4 spacetime
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Pontzen A
(2021)
EDGE: a new approach to suppressing numerical diffusion in adaptive mesh simulations of galaxy formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pontzen A
(2021)
EDGE: a new approach to suppressing numerical diffusion in adaptive mesh simulations of galaxy formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rey M
(2020)
EDGE: from quiescent to gas-rich to star-forming low-mass dwarf galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Agertz O
(2020)
EDGE: the mass-metallicity relation as a critical test of galaxy formation physics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Orkney M
(2022)
EDGE: the puzzling ellipticity of Eridanus II's star cluster and its implications for dark matter at the heart of an ultra-faint dwarf
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Prgomet M
(2022)
EDGE: The sensitivity of ultra-faint dwarfs to a metallicity-dependent initial mass function
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Orkney M
(2021)
EDGE: two routes to dark matter core formation in ultra-faint dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Orkney M
(2021)
EDGE: two routes to dark matter core formation in ultra-faint dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rey M
(2022)
EDGE: What shapes the relationship between H i and stellar observables in faint dwarf galaxies?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pagano P
(2020)
Effect of coronal loop structure on wave heating through phase mixing
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wakita S
(2022)
Effect of Impact Velocity and Angle on Deformational Heating and Postimpact Temperature
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Stickle A
(2022)
Effects of Impact and Target Parameters on the Results of a Kinetic Impactor: Predictions for the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission
in The Planetary Science Journal
Camps P
(2021)
Effects of Spatial Discretization in Lya Line Radiation Transfer Simulations
in The Astrophysical Journal
Camps P
(2021)
Effects of Spatial Discretization in Lya Line Radiation Transfer Simulations
in The Astrophysical Journal
Vidal J
(2020)
Efficiency of tidal dissipation in slowly rotating fully convective stars or planets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Elliott E
(2021)
Efficient exploration and calibration of a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation with deep learning
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Elliott E
(2021)
Efficient exploration and calibration of a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation with deep learning
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Woss A
(2020)
Efficient solution of the multichannel Lüscher determinant condition through eigenvalue decomposition
in Physical Review D
Raducan S
(2022)
Ejecta distribution and momentum transfer from oblique impacts on asteroid surfaces
in Icarus
Raducan S
(2022)
Ejecta distribution and momentum transfer from oblique impacts on asteroid surfaces
in Icarus
Buividovich P
(2020)
Electric conductivity in finite-density S U ( 2 ) lattice gauge theory with dynamical fermions
in Physical Review D
Buividovich P
(2020)
Electric conductivity in finite-density S U ( 2 ) lattice gauge theory with dynamical fermions
in Physical Review D
Guo FK
(2015)
Electric Dipole Moment of the Neutron from 2+1 Flavor Lattice QCD.
in Physical review letters
Guo FK
(2015)
Electric Dipole Moment of the Neutron from 2+1 Flavor Lattice QCD.
in Physical review letters
Yachmenev A
(2021)
Electric quadrupole transitions in carbon dioxide.
in The Journal of chemical physics
Aarts G
(2015)
Electrical conductivity and charge diffusion in thermal QCD from the lattice
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Kordov Z
(2020)
Electromagnetic contribution to S - ? mixing using lattice QCD + QED
in Physical Review D
Di Carlo M
(2022)
Electromagnetic finite-size effects beyond the point-like approximation
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Di Carlo M
(2022)
Electromagnetic finite-size effects beyond the point-like approximation
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Chambers A
(2017)
Electromagnetic form factors at large momenta from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Allanson O
(2021)
Electron Diffusion and Advection During Nonlinear Interactions With Whistler-Mode Waves
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Allanson O
(2021)
Electron Diffusion and Advection During Nonlinear Interactions With Whistler-Mode Waves
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Hutchinson A
(2022)
Energetic proton back-precipitation onto the solar atmosphere in relation to long-duration gamma-ray flares
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Agudelo Rueda J
(2022)
Energy Transport during 3D Small-scale Reconnection Driven by Anisotropic Plasma Turbulence
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kukstas E
(2020)
Environment from cross-correlations: connecting hot gas and the quenching of galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Attanasio F
(2022)
Equation of state from complex Langevin simulations
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Blum T
(2017)
Erratum to: Lattice calculation of the leading strange quark-connected contribution to the muon g - 2
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Creci G
(2020)
Evolution of black hole shadows from superradiance
in Physical Review D
| Description | In December 2009, the STFC Facility, DiRAC, was established to provide distributed High Performance Computing (HPC) services for theoretical modelling and HPC-based research in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology. DiRAC provides a variety of computer architectures, matching machine architecture to the algorithm design and requirements of the research problems to be solved. This grant funds the continued operation of the 1.3Pflop/s Blue Gene/Q system at the University of Edinburgh, which was co-developed by Peter Boyle (University of Edinburgh) and IBM to run with high energy efficiency for months at a time on a single problem to solve some of the most complex problems in physics, particularly the strong interactions of quarks and gluons. The DiRAC Facility supports over 250 active researchers at 27 UK HEIs. This includes the research projects of 100 funded research staff (PDRAs and Research Fellows), over 50 post-graduate projects, and £1.6M of funded research grants. |
| Exploitation Route | Theoretical results obtained input to a range of experimental programmes aiming to increase our understanding of Nature. Algorithms and software developed provide input to computer design. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
| URL | http://dirac.ac.uk/ |
| Description | Intel IPAG QCD codesign project |
| Organisation | Intel Corporation |
| Department | Intel Corporation (Jones Farm) |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have collaborated with Intel corporation since 2014 with $720k of total direct funding, starting initially as an Intel parallel computing centre, and expanding to direct close collaboration with Intel Pathfinding and Architecture Group. |
| Collaborator Contribution | We have performed detailed optimisation of QCD codes (Wilson, Domain Wall, Staggered) on Intel many core architectures. We have investigated the memory system and interconnect performance, particularly on Intel's latest interconnect hardware called Omnipath. We found serious performance issues and worked with Intel to plan a solution and this has been verified and is available as beta software. It will reach general availability in the Intel MPI 2019 release, and allow threaded concurrent communications in MPI for the first time. A joint paper on the resolution to this was written with the Intel MPI team, and the application of the same QCD programming techniques to machine learning gradient reduction was applied in the paper to the Baidu Research all reduce library, demonstrating a 10x gain for this critical step in machine learning in clustered environments. We are also working with Intel verifying future architectures that will deliver the exascale performance in 2021. |
| Impact | We have performed detailed optimisation of QCD codes (Wilson, Domain Wall, Staggered) on Intel many core architectures. We have investigated the memory system and interconnect performance, particularly on Intel's latest interconnect hardware called Omnipath. We found serious performance issues and worked with Intel to plan a solution and this has been verified and is available as beta software. It will reach general availability in the Intel MPI 2019 release, and allow threaded concurrent communications in MPI for the first time. A joint paper on the resolution to this was written with the Intel MPI team, and the application of the same QCD programming techniques to machine learning gradient reduction was applied in the paper to the Baidu Research all reduce library, demonstrating a 10x gain for this critical step in machine learning in clustered environments. This collaboration has been renewed annually in 2018, 2019, 2020. Two DiRAC RSE's were hired by Intel to work on the Turing collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2016 |