MRI: Aquisition of Computer Cluster for Heliophysics, Plasma, and Turbulence Modeling

该项目包括获得一个4300核心计算机集群，以实现在太阳物理、太阳风及其特性、流体和等离子体湍流、磁重联和等离子体不稳定性以及磁层物理方面的前沿研究。该集群将位于新罕布什尔大学研究计算与仪器（RCI）核心设施中，并由其工作人员操作。集群的安装将利用RCI机房最近的现代化和扩建，提供稳定的基础设施和高效的电力供应和冷却，以最大限度地减少碳足迹。这个集群取代了一个更老的集群，赞福德，它现在已经运行了8年。虽然赞福德已经在计算物理领域实现了大量的研究和一些突破，但新的集群将至少比它强大15倍，从而使更多的前沿科学成为可能。该集群将大大提高我们模拟等离子体和流体系统的能力，使每年合计支出超过350万美元的研究项目受益。进步不会只是渐进式的，但我们有充分的理由相信，在许多情况下，我们的进步将开辟新的物理体制。大多数将要使用的模拟代码已经成熟，因此集群对科学生产力的影响将是立竿见影的。在其生命周期内，计算机集群将为至少12名教师以及更多的研究人员、博士后、研究生和本科生提供前沿研究。在星团上进行的许多研究都与空间天气直接相关。我们在日冕、太阳风和地球空间建模方面的进展对国家预测和临近预报太空天气的能力以及理解和减轻其影响的能力有着直接的影响。国家空间天气计划明确要求发展这种能力。其中一个项目解决了与气候变化相关的基本问题，这也是一个备受社会关注的话题。该集群还将对UNH所有物理学科的学生的教育产生影响，使他们能够使用最先进的计算设施。因此，它将帮助我们吸引最合格的教师、博士后和学生，它将是教育下一代计算科学家的极其宝贵的资源。

This project involves the acquisition of a 4,300 core computer cluster to enable leading-edge research in solar physics, the solar wind and its properties, both fluid and plasma turbulence, magnetic reconnection and plasma instabilities, and magnetospheric physics. The cluster will be located in the University of New Hampshire Research Computation and Instrumentation (RCI) core facility and operated by its staff. The installation of the cluster will take advantage of the recent modernization and expansion of the RCI machine room, which provides a stable infrastructure and efficient power supply and cooling to minimize the carbon footprint. The cluster replaces an older one, Zaphod, which is now in its eighth year of operation. While Zaphod has enabled numerous studies and some breakthroughs in computational physics, the new cluster will be at least 15 times more powerful and thus enable more leading-edge science.The cluster will significantly enhance our ability to simulate plasma and fluid systems, benefiting research projects with more than $3.5M in combined yearly expenditures. Progress will not be just incremental, but we have good reason to believe that in many cases our progress will open up new physical regimes. Most of the simulation codes that will be used are already mature, thus the impact of the cluster on scientific productivity will be immediate. Over its lifetime, the computer cluster will enable leading-edge research for at least a dozen faculty, and many more researchers, post-docs, graduate, and undergraduate students.Much of the research to be performed on the cluster is directly related to space weather. Our progress in modeling the solar corona, solar wind, and geospace has an immediate effect on the Nation's ability to forecast and nowcast space weather, and to understand and to mitigate its effects. The National Space Weather Program explicitly calls for the development of such capabilities. One of the projects supported addresses fundamental issues related to climate change, which is also a topic of great societal concern. The cluster will also make an impact on the education of students in all physical disciplines at UNH by giving them access to a state-of-the art computing facility. It will thus help us to attract the most qualified faculty, post-docs, and students, and it will be an extremely valuable resource for educating the next generation of computational scientists.