INDUSTRY
Durham University Cosmologists Use New Supercomputer
Researchers from the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) at Durham University are tackling what has been described as the biggest problem in physics by running simulations of the Universe on a massive upgrade to the Cosmology Machine supercomputer supplied by Sun Microsystems. These calculations have been used by an international team which is competing to carry out a new space mission under the European Space Agency's "Cosmic Vision'' programme. Perhaps the most startling recent observation in cosmology is that the expansion of the universe appears to be speeding up rather than slowing down. 
Two possible explanations have been put forward to explain this phenomenon: either the universe is filled with a mysterious fluid called Dark Energy, which exerts a repulsive force to overcome the gravitational pull of matter, or the very law of gravity itself is flawed and needs to be changed. Either way, physicists are excited by the prospect of understanding what is pulling the Universe apart, as this will lead to fundamental advances in the subject. Prof Carlos S. Frenk FRS, Ogden Professor, Director of the ICC: “Dark energy is at the cutting-edge of science; cutting-edge science requires cutting-edge technology and this is precisely what Sun Microsystems provides us with.” Cosmologists grapple with these problems by running huge computer simulations of the evolution of the universe. As part of Virgo Consortium, an international group of cosmologists who simulate the growth of cosmic structures, the group at Durham has used the local supercomputer called the Cosmology Machine (COSMA), to simulate more of the Universe than has ever been attempted before. The Cosmology Machine is a unique installation in academia. The Cosmology Machine is built up of a combination of UltraSPARC IIIi and AMD Opteron nodes supplied by Sun Microsystems. The Cosmology Machine also uses Sun's Solaris Operating System (OS), compilers and internode communications software. The latest upgrade in April 2006, which included Sun Fire X2100, Sun Fire X4100 and Sun Fire V40z servers, brought the system to 1300 CPUs, making it one of the largest supercomputers in Europe dedicated to academic research in one field. Sun Microsystems are working closely with the ICC High Performance Computing manager, Dr. Lydia Heck, to optimize the performance of the Cosmology Machine, which, due to the demands placed on it by the simulation codes, is a challenging and invaluable test-bed for Sun's software and hardware. Researchers at the ICC recently ran a series of huge simulations to test a new method for measuring the dark energy in the Universe. These calculations give the definitive answer on how well future experiments will be able to constrain the nature of dark energy. These calculations form a key part of an international bid to build a satellite called the SPectroscopic All-sky Cosmic Explorer (SPACE), a mission proposed to ESA under the Cosmic Vision programme. The SPACE mission concept has beaten off many competitors to be shortlisted for the next round of selection. If successful, SPACE would launch round 2017 and would produce the largest ever map of the Universe, and will yield the best possible measurements of the dark energy. It has been announced by the ESA that SPACE has made it to the next round of assessment http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM1IQAMS7F_index_0.html.
Two possible explanations have been put forward to explain this phenomenon: either the universe is filled with a mysterious fluid called Dark Energy, which exerts a repulsive force to overcome the gravitational pull of matter, or the very law of gravity itself is flawed and needs to be changed. Either way, physicists are excited by the prospect of understanding what is pulling the Universe apart, as this will lead to fundamental advances in the subject. Prof Carlos S. Frenk FRS, Ogden Professor, Director of the ICC: “Dark energy is at the cutting-edge of science; cutting-edge science requires cutting-edge technology and this is precisely what Sun Microsystems provides us with.” Cosmologists grapple with these problems by running huge computer simulations of the evolution of the universe. As part of Virgo Consortium, an international group of cosmologists who simulate the growth of cosmic structures, the group at Durham has used the local supercomputer called the Cosmology Machine (COSMA), to simulate more of the Universe than has ever been attempted before. The Cosmology Machine is a unique installation in academia. The Cosmology Machine is built up of a combination of UltraSPARC IIIi and AMD Opteron nodes supplied by Sun Microsystems. The Cosmology Machine also uses Sun's Solaris Operating System (OS), compilers and internode communications software. The latest upgrade in April 2006, which included Sun Fire X2100, Sun Fire X4100 and Sun Fire V40z servers, brought the system to 1300 CPUs, making it one of the largest supercomputers in Europe dedicated to academic research in one field. Sun Microsystems are working closely with the ICC High Performance Computing manager, Dr. Lydia Heck, to optimize the performance of the Cosmology Machine, which, due to the demands placed on it by the simulation codes, is a challenging and invaluable test-bed for Sun's software and hardware. Researchers at the ICC recently ran a series of huge simulations to test a new method for measuring the dark energy in the Universe. These calculations give the definitive answer on how well future experiments will be able to constrain the nature of dark energy. These calculations form a key part of an international bid to build a satellite called the SPectroscopic All-sky Cosmic Explorer (SPACE), a mission proposed to ESA under the Cosmic Vision programme. The SPACE mission concept has beaten off many competitors to be shortlisted for the next round of selection. If successful, SPACE would launch round 2017 and would produce the largest ever map of the Universe, and will yield the best possible measurements of the dark energy. It has been announced by the ESA that SPACE has made it to the next round of assessment http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM1IQAMS7F_index_0.html.