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

MRI：购买计算机集群，用于核裂变和聚变的密度泛函和晶格 QCD 研究

• 批准号: 0922770
• 负责人: David Kaplan
• 金额: $ 75.52万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-11-01 至 2012-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0922770&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; computer; cluster; density

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.

聚变(当轻核结合成更重的核)和裂变(当重核分裂成更轻的核)是对我们的生活产生巨大影响的基本核过程。核聚变产生了来自太阳的热量，也是宇宙大爆炸后进入第一代恒星的原始氢和氦的存在的原因。恒星和超新星内部更复杂的聚变和裂变过程导致了地球和宇宙中发现的各种元素。裂变已经被用于能源生产，而受控聚变仍然是一个难以实现的目标。裂变和聚变在核武器和国家安全中都发挥着重要作用。尽管裂变和聚变过程很重要，但由于其复杂性，我们从第一原理上对它们缺乏理论上的理解：聚变涉及小核内多个夸克的相互作用，而裂变则源于大核内多个核子的集体动力学。在这里，我们建议通过高性能计算完成直接从基本夸克和核子相互作用中了解裂变和聚变的第一步。在这项提议中，用核磁共振资金购买的计算机，加上私人投资机构在核理论相关方面的独特专业知识，将使私人投资机构能够进行计算技术和算法的研究和开发，从而能够在TeraGrid等领导级别的计算基础设施上有效地研究裂变和聚变。对这台机器的研究将包括博士后和研究生的广泛参与，给他们一个宝贵的动手机会，学习高性能计算技术，这些技能他们以后将能够应用于所有科学。