The DiRAC 2.5x Facility
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of 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 more than 250 papers annually in international, peer-reviewed journals. However, the DiRAC2 hardware is now at least 5 years old and is therefore at significant risk of failure. The loss of any one of the DiRAC2 services would have a potentially disastrous impact on the research communities which rely on it to deliver their scientific research.
The main purpose of the requested funding for the DiRAC2.5x project is to replace the ageing DiRAC2 while taking advantage of recent hardware advances to provide some new capabilities (e.g. i/o acceleration using flash storage) as prototypes for the proposed DiRAC3 services.
DiRAC2.5x builds on the success of the DiRAC HPC facility and will provide the resources needed to support cutting-edge research during 2018 in all areas of science supported by STFC. While the funding is required to "keep the lights on", 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 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 formation and 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 stars many times more massive than the sun.
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 more than 250 papers annually in international, peer-reviewed journals. However, the DiRAC2 hardware is now at least 5 years old and is therefore at significant risk of failure. The loss of any one of the DiRAC2 services would have a potentially disastrous impact on the research communities which rely on it to deliver their scientific research.
The main purpose of the requested funding for the DiRAC2.5x project is to replace the ageing DiRAC2 while taking advantage of recent hardware advances to provide some new capabilities (e.g. i/o acceleration using flash storage) as prototypes for the proposed DiRAC3 services.
DiRAC2.5x builds on the success of the DiRAC HPC facility and will provide the resources needed to support cutting-edge research during 2018 in all areas of science supported by STFC. While the funding is required to "keep the lights on", 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 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 formation and 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 stars many times more massive than the sun.
Planned Impact
The anticipated impact of the DiRAC2.5x 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 DiRAC2.5x 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 DiRAC2.5x, including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
Organisations
Publications
Laitinen T
(2023)
An Analytical Model of Turbulence in Parker Spiral Geometry and Associated Magnetic Field Line Lengths
in The Astrophysical Journal
Blum T
(2023)
Update of Euclidean windows of the hadronic vacuum polarization
in Physical Review D
Chen C
(2023)
Can a binary star host three giant circumbinary planets?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sherletov A
(2023)
Lattice Studies of 3D Maximally Supersymmetric Yang-Mills
Montargès M
(2023)
The VLT/SPHERE view of the ATOMIUM cool evolved star sample I. Overview: Sample characterization through polarization analysis
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Collins C
(2023)
3D radiative transfer kilonova modelling for binary neutron star merger simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
He Q
(2023)
Testing strong lensing subhalo detection with a cosmological simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Debattista V
(2023)
The Imprint of Clump Formation at High Redshift. II. The Chemistry of the Bulge
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hands S
(2023)
Spectroscopy in the 2 + 1 D Thirring model with N = 1 domain wall fermions
in Physical Review D
Hough R
(2023)
SIMBA - C : an updated chemical enrichment model for galactic chemical evolution in the SIMBA simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Molaro M
(2023)
Possible evidence for a large-scale enhancement in the Lyman-a forest power spectrum at redshift z = 4
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mellor T
(2023)
MARVEL analysis of high-resolution spectra of thioformaldehyde (H 2 CS)
in Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy
Fancher J
(2023)
On the relative importance of shocks and self-gravity in modifying tidal disruption event debris streams
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Evstafyeva T
(2023)
Boson stars in massless and massive scalar-tensor gravity
in Physical Review D
Ali A
(2023)
Star cluster formation and feedback in different environments of a Milky Way-like galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sergeev D
(2023)
Simulations of idealised 3D atmospheric flows on terrestrial planets using LFRic-Atmosphere
in Geoscientific Model Development
Lindert J
(2023)
Precise predictions for V + 2 jet backgrounds in searches for invisible Higgs decays
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Varghese A
(2023)
Chemical Mixing Induced by Internal Gravity Waves in Intermediate-mass Stars
in The Astrophysical Journal
Croft R
(2023)
The gravitational afterglow of boson stars
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Cayuso R
(2023)
Self-Consistent Modeling of Gravitational Theories beyond General Relativity
in Physical Review Letters
Czakon M
(2023)
Infrared-safe flavoured anti-kT jets
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Civiš S
(2023)
Infrared Spectra of Small Radicals for Exoplanetary Spectroscopy: OH, NH, CN and CH: The State of Current Knowledge
in Molecules
Hardy F
(2023)
Estimating nosocomial infection and its outcomes in hospital patients in England with a diagnosis of COVID-19 using machine learning
in International Journal of Data Science and Analytics
Aurrekoetxea J
(2023)
Oscillon formation during inflationary preheating with general relativity
in Physical Review D
Etherington A
(2023)
Strong gravitational lensing's 'external shear' is not shear
Harper A
(2023)
Finite-temperature effects on the x-ray absorption spectra of crystalline alumina from first principles
in AIP Advances
Cardoso V
(2023)
Curvature and dynamical spacetimes: can we peer into the quantum regime?
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Sana T
(2023)
Plasma sheath around sunlit moon: monotonic and non-monotonic structures
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sartorio N
(2023)
Population III X-ray binaries and their impact on the early universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jennings F
(2023)
Halo scaling relations and hydrostatic mass bias in the simba simulation from realistic mock X-ray catalogues
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Orkney M
(2023)
EDGE: the shape of dark matter haloes in the faintest galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Drew A
(2023)
Radiation from global topological strings using adaptive mesh refinement: Massive modes
in Physical Review D
Evstafyeva T
(2023)
Boson stars in massless and massive scalar-tensor gravity
Appleby S
(2023)
The physical nature of circumgalactic medium absorbers in Simba
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
Heyl J
(2023)
Data quality and autism: Issues and potential impacts.
in International journal of medical informatics
Alvarez M
(2023)
NNLO QCD corrections to event shapes at the LHC
Evstafyeva T
(2023)
Unequal-mass boson-star binaries: initial data and merger dynamics
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Buividovich P
(2023)
Real-time simulations of quantum spin chains: Density of states and reweighting approaches
in Physical Review B