High-Performance Modelling and Simulation for Big Data Applications

This open access book was prepared as a Final Publication of the COST Action IC1406 “High-Performance Modelling and Simulation for Big Data Applications (cHiPSet)“ project. Long considered important pillars of the scientific method, Modelling and Simulation have evolved from traditional discrete numerical methods to complex data-intensive continuous analytical optimisations. Resolution, scale, and accuracy have become essential to predict and analyse natural and complex systems in science and engineering. When their level of abstraction raises to have a better discernment of the domain at hand, their representation gets increasingly demanding for computational and data resources. On the other hand, High Performance Computing typically entails the effective use of parallel and distributed processing units coupled with efficient storage, communication and visualisation systems to underpin complex data-intensive applications in distinct scientific and technical domains. It is then arguably required to have a seamless interaction of High Performance Computing with Modelling and Simulation in order to store, compute, analyse, and visualise large data sets in science and engineering. Funded by the European Commission, cHiPSet has provided a dynamic trans-European forum for their members and distinguished guests to openly discuss novel perspectives and topics of interests for these two communities. This cHiPSet compendium presents a set of selected case studies related to healthcare, biological data, computational advertising, multimedia, finance, bioinformatics, and telecommunications

High-Performance Modelling and Simulation for Big Data Applications

This open access book was prepared as a Final Publication of the COST Action IC1406 “High-Performance Modelling and Simulation for Big Data Applications (cHiPSet)“ project. Long considered important pillars of the scientific method, Modelling and Simulation have evolved from traditional discrete numerical methods to complex data-intensive continuous analytical optimisations. Resolution, scale, and accuracy have become essential to predict and analyse natural and complex systems in science and engineering. When their level of abstraction raises to have a better discernment of the domain at hand, their representation gets increasingly demanding for computational and data resources. On the other hand, High Performance Computing typically entails the effective use of parallel and distributed processing units coupled with efficient storage, communication and visualisation systems to underpin complex data-intensive applications in distinct scientific and technical domains. It is then arguably required to have a seamless interaction of High Performance Computing with Modelling and Simulation in order to store, compute, analyse, and visualise large data sets in science and engineering. Funded by the European Commission, cHiPSet has provided a dynamic trans-European forum for their members and distinguished guests to openly discuss novel perspectives and topics of interests for these two communities. This cHiPSet compendium presents a set of selected case studies related to healthcare, biological data, computational advertising, multimedia, finance, bioinformatics, and telecommunications

Cyber-fluid dynamics

Issued as final reportNational Science Foundation (U.S.

SPICA:revealing the hearts of galaxies and forming planetary systems : approach and US contributions

How did the diversity of galaxies we see in the modern Universe come to be? When and where did stars within them forge the heavy elements that give rise to the complex chemistry of life? How do planetary systems, the Universe's home for life, emerge from interstellar material? Answering these questions requires techniques that penetrate dust to reveal the detailed contents and processes in obscured regions. The ESA-JAXA Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) mission is designed for this, with a focus on sensitive spectroscopy in the 12 to 230 micron range. SPICA offers massive sensitivity improvements with its 2.5-meter primary mirror actively cooled to below 8 K. SPICA one of 3 candidates for the ESA's Cosmic Visions M5 mission, and JAXA has is committed to their portion of the collaboration. ESA will provide the silicon-carbide telescope, science instrument assembly, satellite integration and testing, and the spacecraft bus. JAXA will provide the passive and active cooling system (supporting the

The Apertif Surveys:The First Six Months

Apertif is a new phased-array feed for the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), greatly increasing its field of view and turning it into a natural survey instrument. In July 2019, the Apertif legacy surveys commenced; these are a time-domain survey and a two-tiered imaging survey, with a shallow and medium-deep component. The time-domain survey searches for new (millisecond) pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs). The imaging surveys provide neutral hydrogen (HI), radio continuum and polarization data products. With a bandwidth of 300 MHz, Apertif can detect HI out to a redshift of 0.26. The key science goals to be accomplished by Apertif include localization of FRBs (including real-time public alerts), the role of environment and interaction on galaxy properties and gas removal, finding the smallest galaxies, connecting cold gas to AGN, understanding the faint radio population, and studying magnetic fields in galaxies. After a proprietary period, survey data products will be publicly available through the Apertif Long Term Archive (ALTA, https://alta.astron.nl). I will review the progress of the surveys and present the first results from the Apertif surveys, including highlighting the currently available public data

The air shower simulation framework CORSIKA 8: Development and first applications to muon production

Tools to accurately simulate extensive air showers are a key asset for the understanding of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. In this thesis, the Monte Carlo air shower simulation framework CORSIKA 8 is presented. CORSIKA 8 constitutes a next-generation code that aims to combine new functionality with a high level of flexibility and modularity. Notable aspects include the ability to freely combine an arbitrary number of physical processes and to setup simulation environments consisting of several media, including custom atmospheric models. A special feature is the possibility to inspect the complete lineage of particles, which allows linking particles on ground with any of their preceding generations. After describing the foundations of Monte Carlo shower simulations, I explain the architecture of CORSIKA 8 in depth. Focusing on the hadronic and muonic shower components, results obtained with CORSIKA 8 and other simulation codes are compared with each other. Even when using the same hadronic interaction models, a number of differences are observed, in particular regarding low-energy interactions, which have a considerable impact on the lateral distribution of muons at kilometre-scale distances up to a factor of two and more. Making use of the lineage technique, I study the phase space of hadronic interactions in order to quantify the importance for muon production and compare the results with the Heitler–Matthews toy model. At high energies (√s ≳ 500 GeV) particle production in the forward region is confirmed to be especially important, while the central region becomes relevant at low energies (√s ≲ 50 GeV) in particular for muons at large distances. Additionally, I study the impact of modified hadronic interactions on air shower observables. Modified hadron-air cross-sections mainly affect the longitudinal development, causing a larger shift of the maximum muon production depth than of the shower maximum. Artificially increased ρ 0 production, on the other hand, can greatly increase the number of muons with only small impact on other observables. Finally, I also consider the possibility of large multiplicity boson production in the first interaction and study its phenomenology in air showers with a simple toy model. Within the scope of this thesis, I developed the foundations of the CORSIKA 8 framework. Based on the studies that have become possible with CORSIKA 8, I point out some new opportunities towards an improved understanding of muons in air showers