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
Aarts G
(2016)
Finite Temperature Lattice QCD --- Baryons in the Quark--Gluon Plasma
in Acta Physica Polonica B Proceedings Supplement
Aarts G
(2016)
Complex Langevin in Lattice QCD: Dynamic Stabilisation and the Phase Diagram
in Acta Physica Polonica B Proceedings Supplement
Aarts G
(2015)
The Phase Diagram of Heavy Dense QCD with Complex Langevin Simulations
in Acta Physica Polonica B Proceedings Supplement
Pagano P
(2020)
Effect of coronal loop structure on wave heating through phase mixing
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lega E
(2022)
Migration of Jupiter mass planets in discs with laminar accretion flows
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Fyfe L
(2021)
Forward modelling of heating within a coronal arcade
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hildebrandt H
(2020)
KiDS+VIKING-450: Cosmic shear tomography with optical and infrared data
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lach F
(2022)
Type Iax supernovae from deflagrations in Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Bulla M
(2020)
White dwarf deflagrations for Type Iax supernovae: polarisation signatures from the explosion and companion interaction
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Reissl S
(2020)
Synthetic observations of spiral arm tracers of a simulated Milky Way analog
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Andrassy R
(2022)
Dynamics in a stellar convective layer and at its boundary: Comparison of five 3D hydrodynamics codes
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Upadhyay A
(2021)
Star formation histories of Coma cluster galaxies matched to simulated orbits hint at quenching around first pericenter
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Drummond B
(2020)
Implications of three-dimensional chemical transport in hot Jupiter atmospheres: Results from a consistently coupled chemistry-radiation-hydrodynamics model
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lega E
(2021)
Migration of Jupiter-mass planets in low-viscosity discs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Nelson R
(2023)
Gas accretion onto Jupiter mass planets in discs with laminar accretion flows
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hutchinson A
(2023)
Modelling shock-like injections of solar energetic particles with 3D test particle simulations
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Eager-Nash J
(2020)
Implications of different stellar spectra for the climate of tidally locked Earth-like exoplanets
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gronow S
(2020)
SNe Ia from double detonations: Impact of core-shell mixing on the carbon ignition mechanism
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gronow S
(2021)
Double detonations of sub-M Ch CO white dwarfs: variations in Type Ia supernovae due to different core and He shell masses
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Baraffe I
(2021)
Two-dimensional simulations of solar-like models with artificially enhanced luminosity I. Impact on convective penetration
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Phillips M
(2020)
A new set of atmosphere and evolution models for cool T-Y brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Vandenbroucke B
(2020)
CMACIONIZE 2.0: a novel task-based approach to Monte Carlo radiation transfer
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Donevski D
(2020)
In pursuit of giants I. The evolution of the dust-to-stellar mass ratio in distant dusty galaxies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Horst L
(2021)
Multidimensional low-Mach number time-implicit hydrodynamic simulations of convective helium shell burning in a massive star
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Debras F
(2019)
Acceleration of superrotation in simulated hot Jupiter atmospheres
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Izquierdo A
(2021)
The Disc Miner I. A statistical framework to detect and quantify kinematical perturbations driven by young planets in discs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lach F
(2022)
Models of pulsationally assisted gravitationally confined detonations with different ignition conditions
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gronow S
(2021)
Metallicity-dependent nucleosynthetic yields of Type Ia supernovae originating from double detonations of sub- M Ch white dwarfs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Reid J
(2020)
Determining whether the squashing factor, Q , would be a good indicator of reconnection in a resistive MHD experiment devoid of null points
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Blondin S
(2022)
StaNdaRT: a repository of standardised test models and outputs for supernova radiative transfer
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Baraffe I
(2022)
Local heating due to convective overshooting and the solar modelling problem
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Le Saux A
(2022)
Two-dimensional simulations of solar-like models with artificially enhanced luminosity II. Impact on internal gravity waves
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Reid J
(2020)
Coronal energy release by MHD avalanches: Heating mechanisms
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rouillard A
(2020)
Models and data analysis tools for the Solar Orbiter mission
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Chubb K
(2021)
The ExoMolOP database: Cross sections and k -tables for molecules of interest in high-temperature exoplanet atmospheres
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Heath R
(2020)
On the orbital evolution of binaries with circumbinary discs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Joudaki S
(2020)
KiDS+VIKING-450 and DES-Y1 combined: Cosmology with cosmic shear
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Johnston C
(2021)
A fast multi-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic formulation of the transition region adaptive conduction (TRAC) method
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Howson T
(2020)
Phase mixing and wave heating in a complex coronal plasma
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Witstok J
(2021)
Prospects for observing the low-density cosmic web in Lyman- a emission
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Howson T
(2021)
Magnetic reconnection and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the solar corona
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Soler J
(2020)
The history of dynamics and stellar feedback revealed by the H I filamentary structure in the disk of the Milky Way
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Constantino T
(2021)
Suppression of lithium depletion in young low-mass stars from fast rotation
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pariat E
(2023)
Comparison of magnetic energy and helicity in coronal jet simulations
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pierens A
(2023)
Three-dimensional evolution of radiative circumbinary discs: The size and shape of the inner cavity
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hutchinson A
(2022)
Energetic proton back-precipitation onto the solar atmosphere in relation to long-duration gamma-ray flares
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Soler J
(2022)
The Galactic dynamics revealed by the filamentary structure in atomic hydrogen emission
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ziampras A
(2023)
Hydrodynamic turbulence in disks with embedded planets
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pratt J
(2020)
Comparison of 2D and 3D compressible convection in a pre-main sequence star
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pagano P
(2020)
Hydrogen non-equilibrium ionisation effects in coronal mass ejections
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
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 |