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
Wu Y
(2023)
Using planet migration and dust drift to weigh protoplanetary discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coleman G
(2024)
Constraining the formation history of the TOI-1338/BEBOP-1 circumbinary planetary system
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Meiksin A
(2017)
Gas around galaxy haloes - III: hydrogen absorption signatures around galaxies and QSOs in the Sherwood simulation suite
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Cabayol-Garcia L
(2023)
A neural network emulator for the Lyman-a forest 1D flux power spectrum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yurchenko S
(2020)
ExoMol line lists - XL. Rovibrational molecular line list for the hydronium ion (H3O+)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DeGraf C
(2020)
Cosmological simulations of massive black hole seeds: predictions for next-generation electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rosotti G
(2020)
Spiral arms in the protoplanetary disc HD100453 detected with ALMA: evidence for binary-disc interaction and a vertical temperature gradient
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yurchenko S
(2024)
ExoMol line lists - LIII: empirical rovibronic spectra of yttrium oxide
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
De Ceuster F
(2020)
magritte, a modern software library for 3D radiative transfer - II. Adaptive ray-tracing, mesh construction, and reduction
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
Shingles L
(2022)
Modelling the ionization state of Type Ia supernovae in the nebular phase
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bourne M
(2019)
AGN jet feedback on a moving mesh: lobe energetics and X-ray properties in a realistic cluster environment
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haehnelt M
(2020)
Probing delayed-end reionization histories with the 21-cm LAE cross-power spectrum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Šoltinskí T
(2021)
The detectability of strong 21 centimetre forest absorbers from the diffuse intergalactic medium in late reionisation models
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Friske J
(2019)
More than just a wrinkle: a wave-like pattern in Ug versus Lz from Gaia data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kirchschlager F
(2023)
Dust survival rates in clumps passing through the Cas A reverse shock - II. The impact of magnetic fields
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Henden N
(2018)
The FABLE simulations: a feedback model for galaxies, groups, and clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dome T
(2023)
Cosmic web dissection in fuzzy dark matter cosmologies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maunder T
(2024)
Synthetic light curves and spectra from a self-consistent 2D simulation of an ultra-strippped supernova
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kirchschlager F
(2019)
Dust survival rates in clumps passing through the Cas A reverse shock - I. Results for a range of clump densities
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kimm T
(2017)
Feedback-regulated star formation and escape of LyC photons from mini-haloes during reionisation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hu S
(2018)
Impact of cosmological satellites on stellar discs: dissecting one satelliteat a time
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Arthur J
(2017)
nIFTy galaxy cluster simulations - V. Investigation of the cluster infall region
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chiba R
(2022)
Oscillating dynamical friction on galactic bars by trapped dark matter
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chiba R
(2021)
Tree-ring structure of Galactic bar resonance
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
De Belsunce R
(2021)
Inference of the optical depth to reionization from low multipole temperature and polarization Planck data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Weinberger L
(2019)
Modelling the observed luminosity function and clustering evolution of Ly a emitters: growing evidence for late reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dome T
(2023)
On the cosmic web elongation in fuzzy dark matter cosmologies: Effects on density profiles, shapes, and alignments of haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hogg M
(2021)
The effect of a magnetic field on the dynamics of debris discs around white dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Collins C
(2022)
Double detonations: variations in Type Ia supernovae due to different core and He shell masses - II. Synthetic observables
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kroupa N
(2024)
Kernel-, mean-, and noise-marginalized Gaussian processes for exoplanet transits and H 0 inference
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nightingale J
(2023)
Abell 1201: detection of an ultramassive black hole in a strong gravitational lens
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Robson D
(2023)
Redshift evolution of galaxy group X-ray properties in the Simba simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Collins C
(2023)
3D radiative transfer kilonova modelling for binary neutron star merger simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Booth R
(2021)
Modelling the delivery of dust from discs to ionized winds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gaikwad P
(2023)
Measuring the photoionization rate, neutral fraction, and mean free path of H i ionizing photons at 4.9 = z = 6.0 from a large sample of XShooter and ESI spectra
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Reid J
(2023)
Self-consistent nanoflare heating in model active regions: MHD avalanches
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Costa T
(2018)
Driving gas shells with radiation pressure on dust in radiation-hydrodynamic simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Daley-Yates S
(2023)
Heating and cooling in stellar coronae: coronal rain on a young Sun
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
Young A
(2019)
Synthetic molecular line observations of the first hydrostatic core from chemical calculations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Owens A
(2022)
ExoMol line lists - XLV. Rovibronic molecular line lists of calcium monohydride (CaH) and magnesium monohydride (MgH)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Puchwein E
(2023)
The Sherwood-Relics simulations: overview and impact of patchy reionization and pressure smoothing on the intergalactic medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bolton J
(2022)
Limits on non-canonical heating and turbulence in the intergalactic medium from the low redshift Lyman a forest
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schönrich R
(2019)
Distances and parallax bias in Gaia DR2
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
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
Appleby S
(2023)
The physical nature of circumgalactic medium absorbers in Simba
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mocz P
(2023)
Cosmological structure formation and soliton phase transition in fuzzy dark matter with axion self-interactions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society