MRI: Acquisition of a computer cluster for density functional and lattice QCD investigations into nuclear fission and fusion

聚变（当轻原子核结合成更重的原子核时）和裂变（当重原子核分裂成更轻的原子核时）是对我们的生活产生巨大影响的基本核过程。 聚变是来自太阳的热量，以及大爆炸后进入第一代恒星的原始氘和氦的存在的原因。 恒星和超新星内部更复杂的聚变和裂变过程产生了地球和宇宙中发现的各种元素。 裂变已被用于能源生产，而受控聚变仍然是一个难以捉摸的目标。 裂变和聚变都在核武器和国家安全中发挥着重要作用。尽管裂变和聚变过程很重要，但由于其复杂性，我们很少从第一原理对其进行理论理解：聚变涉及小核内许多夸克的相互作用，而裂变则是大核内许多核子的集体动力学。在这里，我们建议通过高性能计算，直接从基本夸克和核子相互作用中完成理解裂变和聚变的第一步。本提案中使用MRI资金购买的计算机，加上PI在核理论相关方面的独特专业知识，将使PI能够进行计算技术和算法的研究和开发，从而能够在领导级计算基础设施（如TeraGrid）上有效研究裂变和聚变。 对这台机器的研究将包括博士后和研究生的广泛参与，为他们提供宝贵的动手机会来学习高性能计算的技术，他们将能够在以后应用于所有科学的技能。

Fusion (when light nuclei bind to make heavier nuclei) and fission (when heavy nuclei break apart into lighter ones) are fundamental nuclear processes that have enormous impact on our lives. Fusion is responsible for the heat from the sun, and for the existence of the primordial deuterium and helium that went into the first generation of stars after the Big Bang. More complex fusion and fission processes within stars and supernovae have given rise to the variety of elements found on earth and in the cosmos. Fission has been harnessed for energy production, while controlled fusion remains an elusive goal. Both fission and fusion play a role in nuclear weaponry and national security.Despite the importance of fission and fusion processes, we have little theoretical understanding of them from first principles due to their complexity: fusion involves the interactions of many quarks within small nuclei, while fission follows from collective dynamics of many nucleons within large nuclei. We propose here to accomplish the first steps toward understanding fission and fusion directly from fundamental quark and nucleon interactions by means of high performance computing. The computer being purchased with MRI funds in this proposal, coupled with the unique expertise of the PIs in relevant aspects of nuclear theory, will enable to the PIs to perform the research and development of computational techniques and algorithms that will enable efficient study of fission and fusion on leadership class computing infrastructure, such as the TeraGrid. Research on this machine will include extensive involvement by post-docs and graduate students, giving them an invaluable hands-on opportunity to learn the techniques of high performance computing, skills they will be able to later apply across all the sciences.