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
Harper A
(2023)
Finite-temperature effects on the x-ray absorption spectra of crystalline alumina from first principles
in AIP Advances
Hu Shaoran
(2017)
Impact of Cosmological Satellites on Stellar Discs: Dissecting One Satellite at a Time
in ArXiv e-prints
Bourne Martin A.
(2019)
AGN jet feedback on a moving mesh: lobe energetics and X-ray properties in a realistic cluster environment
in arXiv e-prints
Smith Matthew C.
(2017)
Supernova feedback in numerical simulations of galaxy formation: separating physics from numerics
in ArXiv e-prints
Fiacconi Davide
(2017)
Galaxy formation simulations with spinning black holes: method and implementation
in ArXiv e-prints
Katz Harley
(2018)
A Census of the LyC Photons that Form the UV Background During Reionization
in ArXiv e-prints
Costa Tiago
(2017)
Quenching star formation with quasar outflows launched by trapped IR radiation
in ArXiv e-prints
Montargès M
(2023)
The VLT/SPHERE view of the ATOMIUM cool evolved star sample I. Overview: Sample characterization through polarization analysis
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dimmock A
(2023)
Backstreaming ions at a high Mach number interplanetary shock Solar Orbiter measurements during the nominal mission phase
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Morello G
(2023)
Spitzer thermal phase curve of WASP-121 b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Blondin S
(2022)
StaNdaRT: a repository of standardised test models and outputs for supernova radiative transfer
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Laitinen T
(2023)
Solar energetic particle event onsets at different heliolongitudes: The effect of turbulence in Parker spiral geometry
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ratnasingam R
(2023)
Internal gravity waves in massive stars II. Frequency analysis across stellar mass
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
Lach F
(2022)
Type Iax supernovae from deflagrations in Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs
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
Gronow S
(2021)
Metallicity-dependent nucleosynthetic yields of Type Ia supernovae originating from double detonations of sub- M Ch white dwarfs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gronow S
(2020)
SNe Ia from double detonations: Impact of core-shell mixing on the carbon ignition mechanism
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Fenton A
(2024)
The 3D structure of disc-instability protoplanets
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gerosa D
(2022)
The irreducible mass and the horizon area of LIGO's black holes
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Aurrekoetxea J
(2023)
CTTK: a new method to solve the initial data constraints in numerical relativity
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Evstafyeva T
(2023)
Unequal-mass boson-star binaries: initial data and merger dynamics
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Croft R
(2023)
The gravitational afterglow of boson stars
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Aurrekoetxea J
(2020)
Coherent gravitational waveforms and memory from cosmic string loops
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Helfer T
(2022)
Malaise and remedy of binary boson-star initial data
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Figueras P
(2020)
Gravitational collapse in cubic Horndeski theories
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Radia M
(2022)
Lessons for adaptive mesh refinement in numerical relativity
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Rosca-Mead R
(2019)
Inverse-chirp signals and spontaneous scalarisation with self-interacting potentials in stellar collapse
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Cardoso V
(2023)
Curvature and dynamical spacetimes: can we peer into the quantum regime?
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Lucini B
(2022)
Sp(4) gauge theories and beyond the standard model physics
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Trotta D
(2022)
Single-spacecraft techniques for shock parameters estimation: A systematic approach
in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Ali A
(2020)
The effect of temperature-dependent viscosity and thermal conductivity on the onset of compressible convection
in Geophysical & Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
Read P
(2020)
The turbulent dynamics of Jupiter's and Saturn's weather layers: order out of chaos?
in Geoscience Letters
Sergeev D
(2023)
Simulations of idealised 3D atmospheric flows on terrestrial planets using LFRic-Atmosphere
in Geoscientific Model Development
Young R
(2019)
Simulating Jupiter's weather layer. Part II: Passive ammonia and water cycles
in Icarus
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
Heyl J
(2023)
Data quality and autism: Issues and potential impacts
in International Journal of Medical Informatics
Pamela S
(2022)
A generalised formulation of G-continuous Bezier elements applied to non-linear MHD simulations
in Journal of Computational Physics
Pedersen C
(2020)
Massive neutrinos and degeneracies in Lyman-alpha forest simulations
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Aurrekoetxea J
(2020)
The effects of potential shape on inhomogeneous inflation
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
De Jong E
(2023)
Spinning primordial black holes formed during a matter-dominated era
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
De Jong E
(2022)
Primordial black hole formation with full numerical relativity
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Muia F
(2019)
The fate of dense scalar stars
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Macpherson H
(2023)
Cosmological distances with general-relativistic ray tracing: framework and comparison to cosmographic predictions
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Balázs C
(2022)
Cosmological constraints on decaying axion-like particles: a global analysis
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Mak M
(2023)
3D Simulations of the Archean Earth Including Photochemical Haze Profiles
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Allanson O
(2021)
Electron Diffusion and Advection During Nonlinear Interactions With Whistler-Mode Waves
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Cheung G
(2021)
DK I = 0, $$ D\overline{K} $$ I = 0, 1 scattering and the $$ {D}_{s0}^{\ast } $$(2317) from lattice QCD
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Alvarez M
(2023)
NNLO QCD corrections to event shapes at the LHC
in Journal of High Energy Physics