DiRAC: Memory Intensive 2.5y
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
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 and which 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.
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 and which 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 the lead (Leicester) proposal describes the overall industrial strategy for the DiRAC facility, including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
Organisations
Publications
Schaller M
(2024)
Swift : a modern highly parallel gravity and smoothed particle hydrodynamics solver for astrophysical and cosmological applications
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Font A
(2022)
Quenching of satellite galaxies of Milky Way analogues: reconciling theory and observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Appleby S
(2023)
The physical nature of circumgalactic medium absorbers in Simba
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
Armijo J
(2024)
A new test of gravity - I. Introduction to the method
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smith A
(2022)
A light-cone catalogue from the Millennium-XXL simulation: improved spatial interpolation and colour distributions for the DESI BGS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Burba J
(2024)
Sensitivity of Bayesian 21 cm power spectrum estimation to foreground model errors
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wu X
(2020)
Photometric properties of reionization-epoch galaxies in the simba simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Conaboy L
(2023)
Relative baryon-dark matter velocities in cosmological zoom simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davies C
(2024)
Constraining modified gravity with weak-lensing peaks
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bennett J
(2020)
Resolving shocks and filaments in galaxy formation simulations: effects on gas properties and star formation in the circumgalactic medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Šoltinskí T
(2021)
The detectability of strong 21 centimetre forest absorbers from the diffuse intergalactic medium in late reionisation models
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jahns-Schindler J
(2023)
How limiting is optical follow-up for fast radio burst applications? Forecasts for radio and optical surveys
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Quera-Bofarull A
(2023)
qwind 3: UV line-driven accretion disc wind models for AGN feedback
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smith A
(2020)
The completed SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: N -body mock challenge for the quasar sample
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bahé Y
(2021)
Strongly lensed cluster substructures are not in tension with ?CDM
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hagen S
(2024)
What drives the variability in AGN? Explaining the UV-Xray disconnect through propagating fluctuations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
De Beer S
(2023)
Resolving the physics of quasar Ly a nebulae (RePhyNe): I. Constraining quasar host halo masses through circumgalactic medium kinematics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Robson D
(2023)
Redshift evolution of galaxy group X-ray properties in the Simba simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lovell C
(2023)
First light and reionisation epoch simulations (FLARES) - VIII. The emergence of passive galaxies at z = 5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Reeves A
(2023)
Constraining quenching time-scales in galaxy clusters by forward-modelling stellar ages and quiescent fractions in projected phase space
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Brown S
(2020)
Connecting the structure of dark matter haloes to the primordial power spectrum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schaye J
(2023)
The FLAMINGO project: cosmological hydrodynamical simulations for large-scale structure and galaxy cluster surveys
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kannan R
(2023)
The MillenniumTNG project: the galaxy population at z = 8
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Thomas P
(2023)
First light and reionization epoch simulations ( Flares ) X: environmental galaxy bias and survey variance at high redshift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sirks E
(2024)
Hydrodynamical simulations of merging galaxy clusters: giant dark matter particle colliders, powered by gravity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Li Y
(2022)
Non-linear reconstruction of features in the primordial power spectrum from large-scale structure
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Welsh L
(2023)
Towards ultra metal-poor DLAs: linking the chemistry of the most metal-poor DLA to the first stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kraljic K
(2020)
The impact of the connectivity of the cosmic web on the physical properties of galaxies at its nodes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Oppenheimer B
(2020)
Feedback from supermassive black holes transforms centrals into passive galaxies by ejecting circumgalactic gas
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cataneo M
(2022)
The matter density PDF for modified gravity and dark energy with Large Deviations Theory
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Thompson O
(2024)
Predictions for CO emission and the CO-to-H2 conversion factor in galaxy simulations with non-equilibrium chemistry
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Enzi W
(2021)
Joint constraints on thermal relic dark matter from strong gravitational lensing, the Ly a forest, and Milky Way satellites
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Richings J
(2021)
A high-resolution cosmological simulation of a strong gravitational lens
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Braspenning J
(2024)
The FLAMINGO project: galaxy clusters in comparison to X-ray observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hernández-Aguayo C
(2021)
Galaxy formation in the brane world I: overview and first results
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coulton W
(2020)
Weak lensing minima and peaks: Cosmological constraints and the impact of baryons
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Appleby S
(2023)
Mapping circumgalactic medium observations to theory using machine learning
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes D
(2021)
Characterizing hydrostatic mass bias with mock-X
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hafen Z
(2024)
The Halo21 absorption modelling challenge: lessons from 'observing' synthetic circumgalactic absorption spectra
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Li Q
(2019)
The dust-to-gas and dust-to-metal ratio in galaxies from z = 0 to 6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sawala T
(2023)
The timeless timing argument and the total mass of the Local Group
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Zenocratti L
(2020)
Correlations between mass, stellar kinematics, and gas metallicity in eagle galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Desmond H
(2022)
Catalogues of voids as antihaloes in the local Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Schaller M
(2024)
On the anisotropic distribution of clusters in the local Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Ludlow A
(2019)
Energy equipartition between stellar and dark matter particles in cosmological simulations results in spurious growth of galaxy sizes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Armijo J
(2022)
Making use of sub-resolution haloes in N -body simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Robertson A
(2021)
The galaxy-galaxy strong lensing cross-sections of simulated ?CDM galaxy clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Tröster T
(2019)
Painting with baryons: augmenting N -body simulations with gas using deep generative models
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Guervilly C
(2019)
Turbulent convective length scale in planetary cores.
in Nature