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
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
Holligan J
(2020)
Sp(2N) Yang-Mills towards large N.
Holligan J
(2019)
$Sp(2N)$ Yang-Mills towards large $N$
Holligan J.
(2019)
Sp(2N) Yang-Mills towards large N
in Proceedings of Science
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
Hu S
(2018)
Impact of cosmological satellites on stellar discs: dissecting one satelliteat a time
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hu Shaoran
(2017)
Impact of Cosmological Satellites on Stellar Discs: Dissecting One Satellite at a Time
in ArXiv e-prints
Huang J
(2023)
Global 3D Radiation Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Accretion onto a Stellar-mass Black Hole at Sub- and Near-critical Accretion Rates
in The Astrophysical Journal
Igoshev A
(2023)
Three-dimensional magnetothermal evolution of off-centred dipole magnetic field configurations in neutron stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Iršic V
(2017)
New constraints on the free-streaming of warm dark matter from intermediate and small scale Lyman- a forest data
in Physical Review D
Iršic V
(2017)
First Constraints on Fuzzy Dark Matter from Lyman-a Forest Data and Hydrodynamical Simulations.
in Physical review letters
Iršic V
(2024)
Unveiling dark matter free streaming at the smallest scales with the high redshift Lyman-alpha forest
in Physical Review D
Iršic V
(2016)
The Lyman-alpha forest power spectrum from the XQ-100 Legacy Survey
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
Ježo T
(2023)
Resonance-aware NLOPS matching for off-shell $$ t\overline{t} $$ + tW production with semileptonic decays
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Johnson C
(2021)
Excited J - - meson resonances at the SU(3) flavor point from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Joswig F
(2023)
Exploring distillation at the SU(3) flavour symmetric point
Katz Harley
(2018)
A Census of the LyC Photons that Form the UV Background During Reionization
in ArXiv e-prints
Keating L
(2020)
Constraining the second half of reionization with the Ly ß forest
Keating L
(2020)
Constraining the second half of reionization with the Ly ß forest
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Khan S
(2021)
Gravitational-wave surrogate models powered by artificial neural networks
in Physical Review D
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
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
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
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
(2022)
Two can play at that game: constraining the role of supernova and AGN feedback in dwarf galaxies with cosmological zoom-in simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kozyreva A
(2020)
The influence of line opacity treatment in stella on supernova light curves
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
Kulkarni G
(2017)
Large 21-cm signals from AGN-dominated reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kulkarni G
(2017)
Large 21 cm signals from AGN-dominated reionization
Lach F
(2022)
Type Iax supernovae from deflagrations in Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics