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
Buividovich P
(2021)
Numerical study of the chiral separation effect in two-color QCD at finite density
Buividovich P
(2020)
Numerical Study of the Chiral Separation Effect in Two-Color QCD at Finite Density
Buividovich P
(2021)
Numerical study of the chiral separation effect in two-color QCD at finite density
in Physical Review D
Young A
(2023)
On the conditions for warping and breaking protoplanetary discs
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
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
Beraldo E Silva L
(2023)
Orbital Support and Evolution of Flat Profiles of Bars (Shoulders)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chiba R
(2022)
Oscillating dynamical friction on galactic bars by trapped dark matter
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aurrekoetxea J
(2023)
Oscillon formation during inflationary preheating with general relativity
in Physical Review D
Sana T
(2023)
Plasma sheath around sunlit moon: monotonic and non-monotonic structures
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
Rocha H.B.
(2023)
Position-Space Renormalisation of the Energy-Momentum Tensor
in Proceedings of Science
Molaro M
(2023)
Possible evidence for a large-scale enhancement in the Lyman-a forest power spectrum at redshift z = 4
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Colquhoun B
(2023)
Precise determination of decay rates for ? c ? ? ? , J / ? ? ? ? c , and J / ? ? ? c e + e - from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Lindert J
(2023)
Precise predictions for V + 2 jet backgrounds in searches for invisible Higgs decays
in Journal of High Energy Physics
De Jong E
(2021)
Primordial black hole formation with full numerical relativity
De Jong E
(2022)
Primordial black hole formation with full numerical relativity
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Beutler F
(2019)
Primordial features from linear to nonlinear scales
in Physical Review Research
Beutler F
(2019)
Primordial Features from Linear to Nonlinear Scales
Beutler F
(2019)
Primordial features from linear to nonlinear scales
Haehnelt M
(2020)
Probing delayed-end reionization histories with the 21-cm LAE cross-power spectrum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Šoltinský T
(2023)
Probing quasar lifetimes with proximate 21-centimetre absorption in the diffuse intergalactic medium at redshifts z = 6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gaikwad P
(2020)
Probing the thermal state of the intergalactic medium at z > 5 with the transmission spikes in high-resolution Ly a forest spectra
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lee J
(2022)
Progress in $Sp(2N)$ lattice gauge theories
Bennett E
(2021)
Progress in $Sp(2N)$ lattice gauge theories
Worthy J.
(2022)
Properties of Overlap and Domain Wall Fermions in the 2+1D Thirring Model
in Proceedings of Science
Hatton D
(2020)
QED interaction effects on heavy meson masses from lattice QCD + QED
in Physical Review D
Arthuis P
(2023)
Quantum Monte Carlo calculations in configuration space with three-nucleon forces
in Physical Review C
Costa Tiago
(2017)
Quenching star formation with quasar outflows launched by trapped IR radiation
in ArXiv e-prints
Harrison J
(2020)
R(J/?) and B_{c}^{-}?J/?l^{-}?[over ¯]_{l} Lepton Flavor Universality Violating Observables from Lattice QCD.
in Physical review letters
Drew A
(2023)
Radiation from global topological strings using adaptive mesh refinement: Massive modes
in Physical Review D
Drew A
(2022)
Radiation from global topological strings using adaptive mesh refinement: Methodology and massless modes
in Physical Review D
De Ceuster F
(2023)
Radiative transfer as a Bayesian linear regression problem
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society