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
De Belsunce R
(2023)
B -mode constraints from Planck low-multipole polarization data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Woss A
(2019)
b 1 resonance in coupled p ? , p ? scattering from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Parrott W
(2023)
B ? K and D ? K form factors from fully relativistic lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Cooper L
(2020)
B c ? B s ( d ) form factors from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Harrison J
(2020)
B c ? J / ? form factors for the full q 2 range from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Harrison J
(2022)
B s ? D s * form factors for the full q 2 range from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
McLean E
(2020)
B s ? D s l ? form factors for the full q 2 range from lattice QCD with nonperturbatively normalized currents
in Physical Review D
De Belsunce R
(2022)
B-mode constraints from Planck low multipole polarisation data
De Belsunce R
(2022)
B-mode constraints from Planck low-multipole polarization data
Dimmock A
(2023)
Backstreaming ions at a high Mach number interplanetary shock Solar Orbiter measurements during the nominal mission phase
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Read P
(2020)
Baroclinic and barotropic instabilities in planetary atmospheres: energetics, equilibration and adjustment
in Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics
Forouhar Moreno V
(2022)
Baryon-driven decontraction in Milky Way-mass haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Navarro J
(2019)
Baryon-induced dark matter cores in the eagle simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Santos-Santos I
(2020)
Baryonic clues to the puzzling diversity of dwarf galaxy rotation curves
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mitchell P
(2022)
Baryonic mass budgets for haloes in the eagle simulation, including ejected and prevented gas
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hergt L
(2021)
Bayesian evidence for the tensor-to-scalar ratio r and neutrino masses m ? : Effects of uniform versus logarithmic priors
in Physical Review D
Cooper L
(2020)
Bc ?bs (d) form factors from lattice QCD
Lytle A.
(2018)
Bc spectroscopy using highly improved staggered quarks
in Proceedings of Science
Khachaturyants T
(2022)
Bending waves excited by irregular gas inflow along warps
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kettle J
(2019)
Beyond the standard model kaon mixing with physical masses.
Boyle P.
(2018)
Beyond the standard model Kaon mixing with physical masses.
in Proceedings of Science
França T
(2023)
Binary Black Holes in Modified Gravity
Rowan C
(2024)
Black hole binaries in AGN accretion discs - II. Gas effects on black hole satellite scatterings
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Figueras P
(2022)
Black hole binaries in cubic Horndeski theories
in Physical Review D
Widdicombe J
(2020)
Black hole formation in relativistic Oscillaton collisions
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Bamber J
(2023)
Black hole merger simulations in wave dark matter environments
in Physical Review D
Talbot R
(2022)
Blandford-Znajek jets in galaxy formation simulations: exploring the diversity of outflows produced by spin-driven AGN jets in Seyfert galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Talbot R
(2021)
Blandford-Znajek jets in galaxy formation simulations: method and implementation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Comerford T
(2019)
Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion by binary stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Evstafyeva T
(2023)
Boson stars in massless and massive scalar-tensor gravity
Evstafyeva T
(2023)
Boson stars in massless and massive scalar-tensor gravity
in Physical Review D
Hatton D
(2021)
Bottomonium precision tests from full lattice QCD: Hyperfine splitting, ? leptonic width, and b quark contribution to e + e - ? hadrons
in Physical Review D
Debattista V
(2020)
Box/peanut-shaped bulges in action space
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schirra A
(2021)
Bringing faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to light: a view from large-scale cosmological simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barber C
(2019)
Calibrated, cosmological hydrodynamical simulations with variable IMFs III: spatially resolved properties and evolution
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Chen C
(2023)
Can a binary star host three giant circumbinary planets?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Threlfall J
(2021)
Can Multi-threaded Flux Tubes in Coronal Arcades Support a Magnetohydrodynamic Avalanche?
in Solar physics
Genina A
(2022)
Can tides explain the low dark matter density in Fornax?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hamilton E
(2024)
Catalog of precessing black-hole-binary numerical-relativity simulations
in Physical Review D
Desmond H
(2022)
Catalogues of voids as antihaloes in the local Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Bantilan H
(2021)
Cauchy evolution of asymptotically global AdS spacetimes with no symmetries
in Physical Review D
Young A
(2022)
Characteristics of small protoplanetary disc warps in kinematic observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Edwards B
(2023)
Characterizing a World Within the Hot-Neptune Desert: Transit Observations of LTT 9779 b with the Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3
in The Astronomical Journal
Bignell R
(2023)
Charm baryons at finite temperature on anisotropic lattices
Hatton D
(2020)
Charmonium properties from lattice QCD + QED : Hyperfine splitting, J / ? leptonic width, charm quark mass, and a µ c
in Physical Review D