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
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
Porth L
(2023)
The information content of projected galaxy fields
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Porth L
(2021)
The Information Content of Projected Galaxy Fields
Porth L
(2020)
Fast estimation of aperture mass statistics - I. Aperture mass variance and an application to the CFHTLenS data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Poole-McKenzie R
(2020)
Informing dark matter direct detection limits with the ARTEMIS simulations
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Poole-McKenzie R
(2020)
Informing dark matter direct detection limits with the ARTEMIS simulations
Pontzen A
(2021)
EDGE: a new approach to suppressing numerical diffusion in adaptive mesh simulations of galaxy formation
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
Ploeckinger S
(2024)
Resolution criteria to avoid artificial clumping in Lagrangian hydrodynamic simulations with a multiphase interstellar medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pizzati E
(2024)
Revisiting the extreme clustering of z ˜ 4 quasars with large volume cosmological simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pichon C
(2020)
And yet it flips: connecting galactic spin and the cosmic web
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Piccirillo E
(2022)
Velocity-dependent annihilation radiation from dark matter subhalos in cosmological simulations
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
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
Pfeifer S
(2020)
The BAHAMAS project: effects of dynamical dark energy on large-scale structure
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pezzella M
(2021)
A method for calculating temperature-dependent photodissociation cross sections and rates.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Pereira-Wilson M
(2023)
The cosmic UV background and the beginning and end of star formation in simulated field dwarf galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pedersen C
(2021)
An emulator for the Lyman-a forest in beyond-?CDM cosmologies
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
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
Pearce F
(2020)
Hydrostatic mass estimates of massive galaxy clusters: a study with varying hydrodynamics flavours and non-thermal pressure support
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Parrott W
(2021)
Toward accurate form factors for B -to-light meson decay from lattice QCD
in Physical Review D
Pallero D
(2022)
Too dense to go through: the role of low-mass clusters in the pre-processing of satellite galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pakmor R
(2023)
The MillenniumTNG Project: the hydrodynamical full physics simulation and a first look at its galaxy clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pakmor R
(2024)
Magnetic field amplification in cosmological zoom simulations from dwarf galaxies to galaxy groups
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pagano P
(2019)
MHD simulations of the in situ generation of kink and sausage waves in the solar corona by collision of dense plasma clumps
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pagano P
(2019)
A Prospective New Diagnostic Technique for Distinguishing Eruptive and Noneruptive Active Regions
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pagano P
(2019)
A New Space Weather Tool for Identifying Eruptive Active Regions
Pagano P
(2019)
A New Space Weather Tool for Identifying Eruptive Active Regions
in The Astrophysical Journal
Owens A
(2021)
Theoretical rovibronic spectroscopy of the calcium monohydroxide radical (CaOH).
in The Journal of chemical physics
Owens A
(2021)
ExoMol line lists - XLI. High-temperature molecular line lists for the alkali metal hydroxides KOH and NaOH
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Orkney M
(2023)
Exploring the diversity and similarity of radially anisotropic Milky Way-like stellar haloes: implications for disrupted dwarf galaxy searches
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Orkney M
(2021)
EDGE: two routes to dark matter core formation in ultra-faint dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Orkney M
(2023)
EDGE: the shape of dark matter haloes in the faintest galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Oppenheimer B
(2020)
Feedback from supermassive black holes transforms centrals into passive galaxies by ejecting circumgalactic gas
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Olsen K
(2021)
sígame v3: Gas Fragmentation in Postprocessing of Cosmological Simulations for More Accurate Infrared Line Emission Modeling
in The Astrophysical Journal