DiRAC: Memory Intensive 2.5x
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 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 hardware at Durham, Edinburgh and Leicester
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.
The DiRAC-2.5x project builds on the success of the DiRAC-2.5 HPC facility and will provide the resources needed
to support cutting edge research starting from 1/4/2018 in all areas of science supported by STFC.
Specifically the funding sort by Durham will allow:
A factor 2 increase in the size of calculation that can be run at Durham, and a 50% increase in the
available computing power (assuming the current DiRAC-2.5 systems continue to operate at the current level).
The usage of the system will be decided by the DiRAC Resource Allocation Committee primarily,
but it is envisaged that the enhanced system will be used for very large calculations, for example, to:
(i) simulate the merger of pairs of black holes which generate gravitational waves such as those recently discovered by the
LIGO consortium;
(ii) perform the most realistic simulations to date of the formation and evolution of galaxies in the Universe
(iii) carry out detailed simulations of the interior of the sun and of planetary interiors.
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 hardware at Durham, Edinburgh and Leicester
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.
The DiRAC-2.5x project builds on the success of the DiRAC-2.5 HPC facility and will provide the resources needed
to support cutting edge research starting from 1/4/2018 in all areas of science supported by STFC.
Specifically the funding sort by Durham will allow:
A factor 2 increase in the size of calculation that can be run at Durham, and a 50% increase in the
available computing power (assuming the current DiRAC-2.5 systems continue to operate at the current level).
The usage of the system will be decided by the DiRAC Resource Allocation Committee primarily,
but it is envisaged that the enhanced system will be used for very large calculations, for example, to:
(i) simulate the merger of pairs of black holes which generate gravitational waves such as those recently discovered by the
LIGO consortium;
(ii) perform the most realistic simulations to date of the formation and evolution of galaxies in the Universe
(iii) carry out detailed simulations of the interior of the sun and of planetary interiors.
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 the
lead Je-S form from Leicester, describes the overall industrial strategy for DiRAC2.5x,
including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
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 the
lead Je-S form from Leicester, describes the overall industrial strategy for DiRAC2.5x,
including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
Organisations
Publications
Icaza-Lizaola M
(2022)
A sparse regression approach for populating dark matter halos and subhalos with galaxies
Icaza-Lizaola M
(2023)
A sparse regression approach for populating dark matter haloes and subhaloes with galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Icaza-Lizaola M
(2020)
The clustering of the SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey DR14 LRG sample: structure growth rate measurement from the anisotropic LRG correlation function in the redshift range 0.6 < z < 1.0
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Igoshev A
(2021)
Combined analysis of neutron star natal kicks using proper motions and parallax measurements for radio pulsars and Be X-ray binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Igoshev A
(2021)
3D Magnetothermal Simulations of Tangled Crustal Magnetic Field in Central Compact Objects
in The Astrophysical Journal
Igoshev A
(2020)
Strong toroidal magnetic fields required by quiescent X-ray emission of magnetars
in Nature Astronomy
Irodotou D
(2022)
The effects of AGN feedback on the structural and dynamical properties of Milky Way-mass galaxies in cosmological simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Irodotou D
(2021)
Using angular momentum maps to detect kinematically distinct galactic components
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Iršic V
(2024)
Unveiling dark matter free streaming at the smallest scales with the high redshift Lyman-alpha forest
in Physical Review D
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
Jackson R
(2021)
The origin of low-surface-brightness galaxies in the dwarf regime
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jackson R
(2021)
Dark matter-deficient dwarf galaxies form via tidal stripping of dark matter in interactions with massive companions
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
Jin S
(2023)
Massive galaxy formation caught in action at z ~ 5 with JWST
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Johnson C
(2021)
Excited J - - meson resonances at the SU(3) flavor point from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Johnston C
(2021)
A fast multi-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic formulation of the transition region adaptive conduction (TRAC) method
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Jones C
(2021)
Fully developed anelastic convection with no-slip boundaries
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Kafle P
(2018)
Galaxy tagging: photometric redshift refinement and group richness enhancement
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kalaghatgi C
(2021)
Investigating the effect of in-plane spin directions for precessing binary black hole systems
in Physical Review D
Kalaghatgi C
(2020)
Investigating the effect of in-plane spin directions for Precessing BBH systems
Kannan R
(2023)
The MillenniumTNG project: the galaxy population at z = 8
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kannan R
(2022)
The MillenniumTNG Project: The galaxy population at $z\geq 8$
Katsianis A
(2021)
The specific star formation rate function at different mass scales and quenching: a comparison between cosmological models and SDSS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Katz H
(2023)
Two modes of LyC escape from bursty star formation: implications for [C ii ] deficits and the sources of reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Katz H
(2019)
Magnetogenesis at Cosmic Dawn: tracing the origins of cosmic magnetic fields
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Katz H
(2023)
The challenges of identifying Population III stars in the early Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Katz H
(2018)
A Census of the LyC photons that form the UV background during reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kay S
(2020)
The intracluster light as a tracer of the total matter density distribution: a view from simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Keating L
(2020)
Constraining the second half of reionization with the Ly ß forest
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kegerreis J
(2022)
Immediate origin of the Moon as a post-impact satellite
Kegerreis J
(2018)
Consequences of Giant Impacts on Early Uranus for Rotation, Internal Structure, Debris, and Atmospheric Erosion
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kegerreis J
(2022)
Immediate Origin of the Moon as a Post-impact Satellite
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Kelly A
(2021)
The origin of X-ray coronae around simulated disc galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kelly A
(2020)
The origin of X-ray coronae around simulated disc galaxies
Kelly A
(2022)
Apostle-Auriga: effects of different subgrid models on the baryon cycle around Milky Way-mass galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Khachaturyants T
(2021)
How stars formed in warps settle into (and contaminate) thick discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kobayashi C
(2020)
The Origin of Elements from Carbon to Uranium
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kobayashi C
(2020)
New Type Ia Supernova Yields and the Manganese and Nickel Problems in the Milky Way and Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
in The Astrophysical Journal
Koudmani S
(2018)
Fast and energetic AGN-driven outflows in simulated dwarf galaxies
Koudmani S
(2019)
Fast and energetic AGN-driven outflows in simulated dwarf galaxies
Koudmani S
(2021)
A little FABLE: exploring AGN feedback in dwarf galaxies with cosmological simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description | See Dirac annual report https://dirac.ac.uk |
Exploitation Route | See Dirac annual report https://dirac.ac.uk |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education |
URL | https://dirac.ac.uk |