ExaTEPP: Theoretical and Experimental Particle Physics at the Exascale Frontier
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Research in Particle Physics (PP) in the next decade will be dominated by a 10x increase in the amount of experimental data, leading to unprecedented precision. Analysing and interpreting these data requires advanced simulation techniques and is an important use-case for Exascale computing worldwide. This project aims to develop novel algorithms and paradigms for large scale simulations to maximise the performance extracted from heterogeneous parallel hardware architectures that are being deployed at large HPC centres across the world. The ExaTEPP proposal puts the particle physics use-case at the centre of the ExCALIBUR programme, through the use of existing and future testbeds and the collaboration and exchange of ideas with other working groups. Our goal is to develop the tools needed in the UK to exploit HPC in the next decade and to focus on the transferable skills acquired by RSEs working on this use-case.
Research projects in both theoretical and experimental particle physics are based on large international collaborations, and collaborative values are deeply embedded in the research culture of the field. ExaTEPP is built upon existing international collaborations with the goal of providing world-leading contributions to future developments. Collaboration with industry is crucial to gain and exchange technical knowledge and fully exploit advancements in both hardware and software.
Leading HPC industries have endorsed the activities of ExaTEPP, committing representatives of theirs to actively contribute to our programme and to the management board of the project in order to foster a dynamic, bidirectional knowledge exchange. The activities of ExaTEPP are strongly aligned with the four pillars of the ExCALIBUR programme. While delivering the new software needed by the community, ExaTEPP will contribute directly to advance the ExCALIBUR goals, integrate with cross-cutting themes and exploit the available hardware testbeds for software optimisation.
The proposal is structured into three work packages (WP). WP1 focuses on training, knowledge exchange and communication with other ExCALIBUR working groups representing other scientific disciplines in the UK. WP2 focuses on development of simulations on HPCs as an essential tool to address urgent particle physics questions that dominate the international research landscape and are highly relevant for UK science, such as the nature of the Higgs boson or the understanding of the muon gyromagnetic factor (g-2). Benchmarking work is proposed in WP3 to monitor the efficiency of the software developed to maximise the physics output per kWh of power, contributing to the decarbonisation agenda.
Our work will primarily impact the scientific community, both in our specific fields and more broadly in high-performance scientific computing, including the wider ExCALIBUR programme, and the supercomputing industry. Our outputs will be disseminated in the PP scientific community through participation in conferences, organisation of workshops and training events, and scientific publications in highly reputed journals. To promote and disseminate the code and the material that we shall develop, we will open events such as hackathons and schools to other ExCALIBUR funded working groups, to industry and to the wider community. Contributions to already open-source software will be made available following the development processes for each project; new projects will be made available as open source through publicly accessible repositories (e.g., GitHub), and we will work with the authors of any currently proprietary software touched by the project to enable them to open-source their projects. The training material will similarly be freely licensed and made available on dedicated open web sites and YouTube channels.
Research projects in both theoretical and experimental particle physics are based on large international collaborations, and collaborative values are deeply embedded in the research culture of the field. ExaTEPP is built upon existing international collaborations with the goal of providing world-leading contributions to future developments. Collaboration with industry is crucial to gain and exchange technical knowledge and fully exploit advancements in both hardware and software.
Leading HPC industries have endorsed the activities of ExaTEPP, committing representatives of theirs to actively contribute to our programme and to the management board of the project in order to foster a dynamic, bidirectional knowledge exchange. The activities of ExaTEPP are strongly aligned with the four pillars of the ExCALIBUR programme. While delivering the new software needed by the community, ExaTEPP will contribute directly to advance the ExCALIBUR goals, integrate with cross-cutting themes and exploit the available hardware testbeds for software optimisation.
The proposal is structured into three work packages (WP). WP1 focuses on training, knowledge exchange and communication with other ExCALIBUR working groups representing other scientific disciplines in the UK. WP2 focuses on development of simulations on HPCs as an essential tool to address urgent particle physics questions that dominate the international research landscape and are highly relevant for UK science, such as the nature of the Higgs boson or the understanding of the muon gyromagnetic factor (g-2). Benchmarking work is proposed in WP3 to monitor the efficiency of the software developed to maximise the physics output per kWh of power, contributing to the decarbonisation agenda.
Our work will primarily impact the scientific community, both in our specific fields and more broadly in high-performance scientific computing, including the wider ExCALIBUR programme, and the supercomputing industry. Our outputs will be disseminated in the PP scientific community through participation in conferences, organisation of workshops and training events, and scientific publications in highly reputed journals. To promote and disseminate the code and the material that we shall develop, we will open events such as hackathons and schools to other ExCALIBUR funded working groups, to industry and to the wider community. Contributions to already open-source software will be made available following the development processes for each project; new projects will be made available as open source through publicly accessible repositories (e.g., GitHub), and we will work with the authors of any currently proprietary software touched by the project to enable them to open-source their projects. The training material will similarly be freely licensed and made available on dedicated open web sites and YouTube channels.
