DiRAC 2.5 Operations 2017-2020
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 DiRAC-2.5 project builds on the success of the DiRAC HPC facility and will provide the resources needed to support cutting edge research during 2017 in all areas of science supported by STFC.
In addition to the existing DiRAC-2 services, from April 2017 DiRAC-2.5 will provide:
1) A factor 2 increase in the computational power of the DiRAC supercomputer at the University of Durham, which is designed for simulations requiring large amounts of computer memory. The enhanced system will be used 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.
2) A new High Performance Computer at Cambridge whose particular architecture is well suited to the theoretical problems that we want to tackle that utilise large amounts of data, either as input or being generated at intermediate stages of our calculations. Two key challenges that we will tackle are those of:
(i) improving our understanding of the Milky Way through analysis of new data from the European
Space Agency's GAIA satellite and
(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.
3) An additional 3500 compute cores on the DiRAC Complexity supercomputer at Leicester which will make it possible to
carry out simulations of some of the most complex physical situation in the Universe. These include:
(i) 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;
(ii) 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.
4) A team of three research software engineers who will help DiRAC researchers to ensure their scientific codes to extract
the best possible performance from the hardware components of the DiRAC clusters. These highly skilled programmers will
increase the effective computational power of the DiRAC facility during 2017.
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 DiRAC-2.5 project builds on the success of the DiRAC HPC facility and will provide the resources needed to support cutting edge research during 2017 in all areas of science supported by STFC.
In addition to the existing DiRAC-2 services, from April 2017 DiRAC-2.5 will provide:
1) A factor 2 increase in the computational power of the DiRAC supercomputer at the University of Durham, which is designed for simulations requiring large amounts of computer memory. The enhanced system will be used 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.
2) A new High Performance Computer at Cambridge whose particular architecture is well suited to the theoretical problems that we want to tackle that utilise large amounts of data, either as input or being generated at intermediate stages of our calculations. Two key challenges that we will tackle are those of:
(i) improving our understanding of the Milky Way through analysis of new data from the European
Space Agency's GAIA satellite and
(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.
3) An additional 3500 compute cores on the DiRAC Complexity supercomputer at Leicester which will make it possible to
carry out simulations of some of the most complex physical situation in the Universe. These include:
(i) 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;
(ii) 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.
4) A team of three research software engineers who will help DiRAC researchers to ensure their scientific codes to extract
the best possible performance from the hardware components of the DiRAC clusters. These highly skilled programmers will
increase the effective computational power of the DiRAC facility during 2017.
Planned Impact
The expected impact of the DiRAC 2.5 HPC facility is fully described in the attached pathways to impact document and includes:
1) Disseminating best practice in High Performance Computing software engineering throughout the theoretical Particle Physics, Astronomy and Nuclear physics communities in the UK as well as to industry partners.
2) Working on co-design projects with industry partners to improve future generations of hardware and software.
3) Development of new techniques in the area of High Performance Data Analytics which will benefit industry partners and researchers in other fields such as biomedicine, biology, engineering, economics and social science, and the natural environment who can use this new technology to improve research outcomes in their areas.
4) Share best practice on the design and operation of distributed HPC facilities with UK National e-Infrastructure partners.
5) Training of the next generation of research scientists of physical scientists to tackle problems effectively on state-of-the-art of High Performance Computing facilities. Such skills are much in demand from high-tech industry.
6) Engagement with the general public to promote interest in science, and to explain how our ability to solve complex problems using the latest computer technology leads to new scientific capabilities/insights. Engagement of this kind also naturally encourages the uptake of STEM subjects in schools.
1) Disseminating best practice in High Performance Computing software engineering throughout the theoretical Particle Physics, Astronomy and Nuclear physics communities in the UK as well as to industry partners.
2) Working on co-design projects with industry partners to improve future generations of hardware and software.
3) Development of new techniques in the area of High Performance Data Analytics which will benefit industry partners and researchers in other fields such as biomedicine, biology, engineering, economics and social science, and the natural environment who can use this new technology to improve research outcomes in their areas.
4) Share best practice on the design and operation of distributed HPC facilities with UK National e-Infrastructure partners.
5) Training of the next generation of research scientists of physical scientists to tackle problems effectively on state-of-the-art of High Performance Computing facilities. Such skills are much in demand from high-tech industry.
6) Engagement with the general public to promote interest in science, and to explain how our ability to solve complex problems using the latest computer technology leads to new scientific capabilities/insights. Engagement of this kind also naturally encourages the uptake of STEM subjects in schools.
Organisations
Publications
Ali A
(2022)
Stellar winds and photoionization in a spiral arm
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Helfer T
(2022)
Malaise and remedy of binary boson-star initial data
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Armijo J
(2022)
Making use of sub-resolution haloes in N -body simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Smith A
(2022)
A light-cone catalogue from the Millennium-XXL simulation: improved spatial interpolation and colour distributions for the DESI BGS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Heinesen A
(2022)
A prediction for anisotropies in the nearby Hubble flow
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Rocha H.B.
(2022)
Critical behaviour and phase structure of 3d Scalar+Gauge Field Theories in the adjoint representation
in Proceedings of Science
Lamberts A
(2022)
Constraining blazar heating with the 2 ? z ? 3 Lyman-a forest
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Roper W
(2022)
First Light And Reionisation Epoch Simulations ( flares ) - IV. The size evolution of galaxies at z = 5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yang T
(2022)
Understanding the relation between thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich decrement and halo mass using the simba and TNG simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Evans T
(2022)
Observing EAGLE galaxies with JWST : predictions for Milky Way progenitors and their building blocks
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Elbers W
(2022)
Higher order initial conditions with massive neutrinos
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bahé Y
(2022)
The importance of black hole repositioning for galaxy formation simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stevenson P
(2022)
Mean-field simulations of Es-254 + Ca-48 heavy-ion reactions
in Frontiers in Physics
Coughlin E
(2022)
Stars Crushed by Black Holes. II. A Physical Model of Adiabatic Compression and Shock Formation in Tidal Disruption Events
in The Astrophysical Journal
Baraffe I
(2022)
Local heating due to convective overshooting and the solar modelling problem
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Cummins D
(2022)
Extreme Pebble Accretion in Ringed Protoplanetary Discs
Givans J
(2022)
Non-linearities in the Lyman-a forest and in its cross-correlation with dark matter halos
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Bending T
(2022)
Supernovae and photoionizing feedback in spiral arm molecular clouds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nixon C
(2022)
Stellar Revival and Repeated Flares in Deeply Plunging Tidal Disruption Events
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Dobbs C
(2022)
The formation of clusters and OB associations in different density spiral arm environments
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Attanasio F
(2022)
Equation of state from complex Langevin simulations
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Lach F
(2022)
Models of pulsationally assisted gravitationally confined detonations with different ignition conditions
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gerosa D
(2022)
The irreducible mass and the horizon area of LIGO's black holes
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Saló LA
(2022)
Well-Posedness of the Four-Derivative Scalar-Tensor Theory of Gravity in Singularity Avoiding Coordinates.
in Physical review letters
Santos-Santos I
(2022)
Satellite mass functions and the faint end of the galaxy mass-halo mass relation in LCDM
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
De Belsunce R
(2022)
Testing for spectral index variations in polarized CMB foregrounds
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
Wurster J
(2022)
On the origin of magnetic fields in stars - II. The effect of numerical resolution
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Borukhovetskaya A
(2022)
Galactic tides and the Crater II dwarf spheroidal: a challenge to LCDM?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sawala T
(2022)
The Milky Way's plane of satellites is consistent with ?CDM
in Nature Astronomy
Astoul A
(2022)
The effects of non-linearities on tidal flows in the convective envelopes of rotating stars and planets in exoplanetary systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gerosa D
(2022)
The irreducible mass and the horizon area of LIGO's black holes
Cataldi P
(2022)
Fingerprints of modified gravity on galaxies in voids
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stickle A
(2022)
Effects of Impact and Target Parameters on the Results of a Kinetic Impactor: Predictions for the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission
in The Planetary Science Journal
Wang Z
(2022)
Superradiance in massive vector fields with spatially varying mass
in Physical Review D
Lach F
(2022)
Type Iax supernovae from deflagrations in Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gómez J
(2022)
Halo merger tree comparison: impact on galaxy formation models
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Helfer T
(2022)
Malaise and remedy of binary boson-star initial data
Helfer T
(2022)
Malaise and remedy of binary boson-star initial data
Christie D
(2022)
CAMEMBERT: A Mini-Neptunes General Circulation Model Intercomparison, Protocol Version 1.0.A CUISINES Model Intercomparison Project
in The Planetary Science Journal
Buividovich P
(2022)
Quantum chaos in supersymmetric quantum mechanics: An exact diagonalization study
in Physical Review D
Zicher N
(2022)
One year of AU Mic with HARPS - I. Measuring the masses of the two transiting planets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society