DiRAC: Memory Intensive 2.5x
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 more than 250
papers annually in international, peer-reviewed journals. However, the
DiRAC2 hardware is now at least 5 years old and is therefore at
significant risk of failure. The loss of any one of the DiRAC2
services would have a potentially disastrous impact on the research
communities which rely on it to deliver their scientific research. The
main purpose of the requested funding for the DiRAC2.5x project is to
replace the ageing DiRAC2 hardware at Durham, Edinburgh and Leicester
while taking advantage of recent hardware advances to provide some new
capabilities (e.g. i/o acceleration using flash storage) as prototypes
for the proposed DiRAC3 services.
The DiRAC-2.5x project builds on the success of the DiRAC-2.5 HPC facility and will provide the resources needed
to support cutting edge research starting from 1/4/2018 in all areas of science supported by STFC.
Specifically the funding sort by Durham will allow:
A factor 2 increase in the size of calculation that can be run at Durham, and a 50% increase in the
available computing power (assuming the current DiRAC-2.5 systems continue to operate at the current level).
The usage of the system will be decided by the DiRAC Resource Allocation Committee primarily,
but it is envisaged that the enhanced system will be used for very large calculations, for example, 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.
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 more than 250
papers annually in international, peer-reviewed journals. However, the
DiRAC2 hardware is now at least 5 years old and is therefore at
significant risk of failure. The loss of any one of the DiRAC2
services would have a potentially disastrous impact on the research
communities which rely on it to deliver their scientific research. The
main purpose of the requested funding for the DiRAC2.5x project is to
replace the ageing DiRAC2 hardware at Durham, Edinburgh and Leicester
while taking advantage of recent hardware advances to provide some new
capabilities (e.g. i/o acceleration using flash storage) as prototypes
for the proposed DiRAC3 services.
The DiRAC-2.5x project builds on the success of the DiRAC-2.5 HPC facility and will provide the resources needed
to support cutting edge research starting from 1/4/2018 in all areas of science supported by STFC.
Specifically the funding sort by Durham will allow:
A factor 2 increase in the size of calculation that can be run at Durham, and a 50% increase in the
available computing power (assuming the current DiRAC-2.5 systems continue to operate at the current level).
The usage of the system will be decided by the DiRAC Resource Allocation Committee primarily,
but it is envisaged that the enhanced system will be used for very large calculations, for example, 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.
Planned Impact
The anticipated impact of the DiRAC2.5x 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 DiRAC2.5x 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 Je-S form from Leicester, describes the overall industrial strategy for DiRAC2.5x,
including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
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 DiRAC2.5x 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 Je-S form from Leicester, describes the overall industrial strategy for DiRAC2.5x,
including our strategic goals and key performance indicators.
Organisations
Publications
Errani R
(2020)
The asymptotic tidal remnants of cold dark matter subhalos
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
Fa W
(2018)
Unravelling the Mystery of Lunar Anomalous Craters Using Radar and Infrared Observations
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Farahi A
(2018)
Localized massive halo properties in bahamas and MACSIS simulations: scalings, lognormality, and covariance
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fattahi A
(2019)
The origin of galactic metal-rich stellar halo components with highly eccentric orbits
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Feng J
(2024)
On the evolution of the observed mass-to-length relationship for star-forming filaments
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ferlito F
(2023)
The MillenniumTNG Project: the impact of baryons and massive neutrinos on high-resolution weak gravitational lensing convergence maps
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fiteni K
(2021)
The relative efficiencies of bars and clumps in driving disc stars to retrograde motion
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
Font A
(2020)
The artemis simulations: stellar haloes of Milky Way-mass galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Font A
(2021)
Can cosmological simulations capture the diverse satellite populations of observed Milky Way analogues?
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
Forouhar Moreno V
(2022)
Galactic satellite systems in CDM, WDM and SIDM
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fowlie A
(2022)
Nested Sampling for Frequentist Computation: Fast Estimation of Small p-Values.
in Physical review letters
França T
(2023)
Binary Black Holes in Modified Gravity
Fu B
(2022)
A predictive and testable unified theory of fermion masses, mixing and leptogenesis
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Fumagalli M
(2020)
Detecting neutral hydrogen at z ? 3 in large spectroscopic surveys of quasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fyfe L
(2021)
Forward modelling of heating within a coronal arcade
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
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
Gaikwad P
(2021)
A consistent and robust measurement of the thermal state of the IGM at 2 = z = 4 from a large sample of Ly a forest spectra: evidence for late and rapid He ii reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ganeshaiah Veena P
(2019)
The Cosmic Ballet II: spin alignment of galaxies and haloes with large-scale filaments in the EAGLE simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ganeshaiah Veena P
(2021)
Cosmic Ballet III: Halo spin evolution in the cosmic web
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Garg P
(2022)
The BPT Diagram in Cosmological Galaxy Formation Simulations: Understanding the Physics Driving Offsets at High Redshift
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ghosh S
(2024)
First frequency-domain phenomenological model of the multipole asymmetry in gravitational-wave signals from binary-black-hole coalescence
in Physical Review D
Glowacki M
(2021)
The redshift evolution of the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation in SIMBA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Glowacki M
(2020)
The baryonic Tully-Fisher relation in the Simba simulation
Glowacki M
(2020)
The redshift evolution of the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation in Simba
Glowacki M
(2022)
ASymba: HI global profile asymmetries in the Simba simulation
Glowacki M
(2020)
The baryonic Tully-Fisher relation in the simba simulation
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
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
Goldstraw E
(2018)
Comparison of methods for modelling coronal magnetic fields
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gonzalez-Perez V
(2020)
Do model emission line galaxies live in filaments at z ~ 1?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gonzalez-Perez V
(2020)
Multiwavelength consensus of large-scale linear bias
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gonzalez-Perez V
(2020)
Do model emission line galaxies live in filaments at z~1?
Gourgouliatos K
(2020)
Nonaxisymmetric Hall instability: A key to understanding magnetars
Grand R
(2018)
Aurigaia: mock Gaia DR2 stellar catalogues from the auriga cosmological simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Granelli A
(2023)
ULYSSES, Universal LeptogeneSiS Equation Solver: version 2
Granelli A
(2023)
ULYSSES, universal LeptogeneSiS equation solver: Version 2
in Computer Physics Communications
Gray A
(2021)
Uncertainty Propagation in SINBAD Fusion Benchmarks with Total Monte Carlo and Imprecise Probabilities
in Fusion Science and Technology
Grisdale K
(2021)
Physical properties and scaling relations of molecular clouds: the impact of star formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gronow S
(2021)
Metallicity-dependent nucleosynthetic yields of Type Ia supernovae originating from double detonations of sub- M Ch white dwarfs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
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| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education |
| URL | https://dirac.ac.uk |