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
Thomas N
(2021)
The radio galaxy population in the simba simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goater A
(2024)
EDGE: The direct link between mass growth history and the extended stellar haloes of the faintest dwarf galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Robertson A
(2023)
Why weak lensing cluster shapes are insensitive to self-interacting dark matter
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Thomas P
(2023)
First light and reionization epoch simulations ( Flares ) X: environmental galaxy bias and survey variance at high redshift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gonzalez-Perez V
(2020)
Do model emission line galaxies live in filaments at z ~ 1?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Font A
(2022)
Quenching of satellite galaxies of Milky Way analogues: reconciling theory and observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
He Q
(2022)
Galaxy-galaxy strong lens perturbations: line-of-sight haloes versus lens subhaloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McCarthy I
(2023)
The FLAMINGO project: revisiting the S 8 tension and the role of baryonic physics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pfeifer S
(2020)
The bahamas project: effects of a running scalar spectral index on large-scale structure
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Simpson C
(2020)
The milky way total mass profile as inferred from Gaia DR2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stafford S
(2020)
Exploring extensions to the standard cosmological model and the impact of baryons on small scales
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vijayan A
(2020)
First Light And Reionisation Epoch Simulations (FLARES) II: The Photometric Properties of High-Redshift Galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kume A
(2020)
Shape analysis of H ii regions - II. Synthetic observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Glowacki M
(2022)
ASymba: H i global profile asymmetries in the simba simulation
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
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Arnold C
(2019)
Simulating galaxy formation in f(R) modified gravity: matter, halo, and galaxy statistics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Porth L
(2021)
Fast estimation of aperture-mass statistics - II. Detectability of higher order statistics in current and future surveys
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
Herzog G
(2023)
The present-day gas content of simulated field dwarf galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gurung-López S
(2021)
Determining the systemic redshift of Lyman a emitters with neural networks and improving the measured large-scale clustering
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Driver S
(2022)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Data Release 4 and the z < 0.1 total and z < 0.08 morphological galaxy stellar mass functions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Quera-Bofarull A
(2023)
qwind 3: UV line-driven accretion disc wind models for AGN feedback
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Habouzit M
(2021)
Supermassive black holes in cosmological simulations I: M BH - M ? relation and black hole mass function
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Huško F
(2023)
The complex interplay of AGN jet-inflated bubbles and the intracluster medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Forouhar Moreno V
(2022)
Baryon-driven decontraction in Milky Way-mass haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Camps P
(2022)
High-resolution synthetic UV-submm images for Milky Way-mass simulated galaxies from the ARTEMIS project
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Young A
(2021)
Chemical signatures of a warped protoplanetary disc
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Baugh C
(2022)
Modelling emission lines in star-forming galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Poci A
(2022)
Comparing lensing and stellar orbital models of a nearby massive strong-lens galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Appleby S
(2023)
Mapping circumgalactic medium observations to theory using machine learning
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
Kannan R
(2023)
The MillenniumTNG project: the galaxy population at z = 8
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ahad S
(2024)
An environment-dependent halo mass function as a driver for the early quenching of z = 1.5 cluster galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Henden N
(2019)
The redshift evolution of X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich scaling relations in the fable simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pfeifer S
(2020)
The BAHAMAS project: effects of dynamical dark energy on large-scale structure
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mitchell P
(2020)
Galactic inflow and wind recycling rates in the eagle simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Li Q
(2019)
The dust-to-gas and dust-to-metal ratio in galaxies from z = 0 to 6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Van der Werf P
(2020)
An ALMA survey of the SCUBA-2 CLS UDS field: physical properties of 707 sub-millimetre galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Richings A
(2021)
Unravelling the physics of multiphase AGN winds through emission line tracers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sirks E
(2022)
The effects of self-interacting dark matter on the stripping of galaxies that fall into clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ruan C
(2022)
Towards an accurate model of small-scale redshift-space distortions in modified gravity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tress R
(2020)
Simulations of the star-forming molecular gas in an interacting M51-like galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Li Y
(2022)
Non-linear reconstruction of features in the primordial power spectrum from large-scale structure
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McAlpine S
(2020)
Galaxy mergers in eagle do not induce a significant amount of black hole growth yet do increase the rate of luminous AGN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhang H
(2022)
Spherical accretion of collisional gas in modified gravity I: self-similar solutions and a new cosmological hydrodynamical code
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pearce F
(2021)
Redshift evolution of the hot intracluster gas metallicity in the C-EAGLE cluster simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cataneo M
(2022)
The matter density PDF for modified gravity and dark energy with Large Deviations Theory
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tress R
(2020)
Simulations of the Milky Way's central molecular zone - I. Gas dynamics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Van Daalen M
(2020)
Exploring the effects of galaxy formation on matter clustering through a library of simulation power spectra
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davies C
(2021)
Optimal void finders in weak lensing maps
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society