DiRAC: Memory Intensive 2.5y
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
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 200-250 papers annually in international, peer-reviewed journals. However, the DiRAC facility risks becoming uncompetitive as it has remained static in terms of overall capability since 2012. The DiRAC-2.5x investment in 2017/18 mitigated the risk of hardware failures, by replacing our oldest hardware components. However, as the factor 5 oversubscription of the most recent RAC call demonstrated, the science programme in 2019/20 and beyond requires a significant uplift in DiRAC's compute capability. The main purpose of the requested funding for the DiRAC2.5y project is to provide a factor 2 increase in computing across all DiRAC services to enable the facility to remain competitive during 2019/20 in anticipation of future funding for DiRAC-3.
DiRAC2.5y builds on the success of the DiRAC HPC facility and will provide the resources needed to support cutting-edge research during 2019 in all areas of science supported by STFC. While the funding is required to remain competitive, 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 and 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 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 massive stars.
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 200-250 papers annually in international, peer-reviewed journals. However, the DiRAC facility risks becoming uncompetitive as it has remained static in terms of overall capability since 2012. The DiRAC-2.5x investment in 2017/18 mitigated the risk of hardware failures, by replacing our oldest hardware components. However, as the factor 5 oversubscription of the most recent RAC call demonstrated, the science programme in 2019/20 and beyond requires a significant uplift in DiRAC's compute capability. The main purpose of the requested funding for the DiRAC2.5y project is to provide a factor 2 increase in computing across all DiRAC services to enable the facility to remain competitive during 2019/20 in anticipation of future funding for DiRAC-3.
DiRAC2.5y builds on the success of the DiRAC HPC facility and will provide the resources needed to support cutting-edge research during 2019 in all areas of science supported by STFC. While the funding is required to remain competitive, 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 and 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 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 massive stars.
Planned Impact
The anticipated impact of the DiRAC2.5y 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 DiRAC2.5y 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 the lead (Leicester) proposal describes the overall industrial strategy for the DiRAC facility, including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
Organisations
Publications
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in Royal Society open science
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The importance of black hole repositioning for galaxy formation simulations
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Strongly lensed cluster substructures are not in tension with ?CDM
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Black hole merger simulations in wave dark matter environments
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Growth of accretion driven scalar hair around Kerr black holes
in Physical Review D
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in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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Characterizing hydrostatic mass bias with Mock-X
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Characterizing hydrostatic mass bias with mock-X
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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The MillenniumTNG Project: semi-analytic galaxy formation models on the past lightcone
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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GRAMSES: a new route to general relativistic N -body simulations in cosmology. Part I. Methodology and code description
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Looking for a twist: probing the cosmological gravitomagnetic effect via weak lensing-kSZ cross-correlations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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(2021)
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in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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Exhaustive Symbolic Regression
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Exhaustive Symbolic Regression
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Marginalised Normal Regression: Unbiased curve fitting in the presence of x-errors
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Modelling emission lines in star-forming galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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(2021)
Modelling emission lines in star forming galaxies
Baxter E
(2021)
The correlation of high-redshift galaxies with the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect traces reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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(2021)
Proca-stinated cosmology. Part II. Matter, halo, and lensing statistics in the vector Galileon
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(2021)
The mean free path of ionizing photons at 5 < z < 6: evidence for rapid evolution near reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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(2021)
The relationship between gas and galaxies at z < 1 using the Q0107 quasar triplet
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Beckett, Alexander
(2021)
The relationship between gas and galaxies at z < 1 using the Q0107 quasar triplet
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(2023)
Energy wrinkles and phase-space folds of the last major merger
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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(2022)
Energy wrinkles and phase-space folds of the last major merger
Benitez-Llambay A
(2020)
The detailed structure and the onset of galaxy formation in low-mass gaseous dark matter haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Benitez-Llambay A
(2020)
The detailed structure and the onset of galaxy formation in low-mass gaseous dark matter haloes
Bennett E
(2021)
Glueballs and strings in S p ( 2 N ) Yang-Mills theories
in Physical Review D
Bennett J
(2024)
The growth of the gargantuan black holes powering high-redshift quasars and their impact on the formation of early galaxies and protoclusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bennett J
(2020)
Resolving shocks and filaments in galaxy formation simulations: effects on gas properties and star formation in the circumgalactic medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bernal N
(2022)
Rescuing high-scale leptogenesis using primordial black holes
in Physical Review D
Bernal N
(2022)
Rescuing High-Scale Leptogenesis using Primordial Black Holes
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(2021)
Examination of the sensitivity of quasifree reactions to details of the bound-state overlap functions
in Physical Review C
Betts J
(2023)
Machine learning and structure formation in modified gravity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Betts J
(2023)
Machine Learning and Structure Formation in Modified Gravity
Bilimogga P
(2022)
Using eagle simulations to study the effect of observational constraints on the determination of H i asymmetries in galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Borrow J
(2022)
Sphenix : smoothed particle hydrodynamics for the next generation of galaxy formation simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Borrow J
(2023)
The impact of stochastic modelling on the predictive power of galaxy formation simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society