Project

Particle Physics; Large Data handling; GRID, Cloud Computing; Information and Communication Technology; Big Data

Lead
Das "Swiss Institute of Particle Physics (CHIPP)" ist stark im Projekt "Large Hadron Collider (LHC)" am CERN involviert.Die Schweiz ist Partner der "Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG)" Kollaboration, und also solche betreiben wir unser eigenes Grid Computing Zentrum um LHC Physik Analyse in der Schweiz durchzufuehren. Unser Zentrum steht am CSCS und ist direkt vernetzt mit den anderen weltweit operierenden Analysezentren des WLCG.
Lay summary
Das "Swiss Institute of Particle Physics (CHIPP)" ist  im Projekt "Large Hadron Collider  (LHC)" am CERN involviert. Wir sind Mitglieder in den drei LHC Experimenten ATLAS, CMS und LHCb. Der LHC Collider am CERN hat im Januar 2013 erfolgreich seine erste Datenperiode (2010-2013) beendet. Dabei wurden Protonen mit Protonen bei einer Schwerpunktsenergie von 7 und 8 TeV kollidiert. Ab Sommer 2015 werden wir neue Daten messen bei einer höheren Protonen-Energie von 13 TeV. Die gemessenen Daten erlauben uns Physikern die Strukturen von Materie zu untersuchen, und Bedingungen zu erzeugen, wie sie im fruehen Universum vorherrschten, kurz nach dem "Big Bang". Ein Hoehepunkt war die Entdeckung des "Higgs Teilchens", eines der fundamentalen Bestandteile des "Standard Models der Teilchenphysik" und wesentlich für das Verstaendnis der elektroschwachen Symmetrybrechung. Bei den höheren Energien ab 2015 wird ein vollständig neuer Bereich der Physik abgedeckt werden. Innerhalb dieses vorliegenden SNF/FLARE Projekts nimmt die Schweiz als vertraglicher Partner des WLCG die Aufgabe eines nationalen LHC Analysezentrums wahr. Zusammen mit CSCS betreibt CHIPP am CSCS das Schweizer Grid Computing Zentrum für LHC Physik Analyse, das als sogenanntes "Tier-2 regional centre" global vernetzt operiert. Die Daten (> 100 PBytes) werden weltweit verteilt, und ihre Analyse wird durch die weltweite Grid Computing Infrastruktur ermoeglicht, die durch die "Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG)" Kollaboration in Zusammenarbeit mit der Europäischen EGI betrieben wird. Dieses Analysezentrum erlaubt den Schweizer Teilchenphysikern (der Uni. Bern, Genf und Zuerich, ETH Zuerich, EPFL Lausanne und Paul Scherrer Institut)  Forschung auf kompetitiver Augenhoehe mit anderen Nationalitaeten zu betreiben. Damit koennen die von den Schweizer Hochschulen im LHC investierten Mittel, sei es in Form von Hardware oder Personal, sinnvoll ausgenuetzt und optimal fuer Physikanalyse eingesetzt werden, um so das Potential von neuer, aufregender Physik am LHC auszuschoepfen.

Direct link to Lay Summary

Last update: 09.04.2015

Number	Title	Start	Funding scheme

Following the highly successful operation at 7 TeV and 8 TeV centre of mass energies, in spring 2013 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN entered the long-shutdown phase 1 (LS1). The accelerator has been prepared for higher energy running at an energy of 13 TeV and has re-started with beam commissioning in April 2015. During the shutdown period, the experiments continued the physics exploitation of existing data and physics analyses preparations for future data at high priority.The overall amount of data related to the LHC physics is already immense, reaching order of 250 Petabytes worldwide. Establishing a truly worldwide computing model for LHC data analy-sis, the “WLCG”, has allowed the physicists to master the specific “BigData” challenge of having a reliable tool for LHC data analysis and simulation. The LHC collaborations have published a large number of physics results based on LHC data (ATLAS, CMS and LHCb combined exceed 1000 publications since the LHC startup). Most notably the physicists have been successful in observing a new particle, consistent with the properties of the standard model Higgs boson, which was a crucial element in experimental support of the theoretical predictions by F.Englert and P.Higgs, who were awarded the 2013 Nobel prize in physics. This can certainly be considered a proof of the proper and successful functioning of the LHC communities’ global analysis computing environment. The Swiss particle physics community continues to be strongly committed to the LHC physics program. We are involved in the three large LHC experiments ATLAS, CMS and LHCb. As member of the international WLCG community we operate a dedicated Swiss computing facility for providing a) resources to the worldwide LHC community (as defined in an MoU), b) the means to allow performing LHC physics data analysis and simulation in Switzerland, and c) serving as a link to the national Tier-3 centres, supporting our own community. For this purpose the Swiss Institute of Particle Physics (CHIPP) and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) established a dedicated compute cluster located at CSCS to function as the Swiss “Tier-2 regional centre” within the worldwide WLCG hierarchy. The resources granted on behalf of our previous requests1 have been invested in the setting up, and subsequent operation of this national “Swiss Tier-2”. Since 2005 our Tier-2 cluster has been growing and it is an integral part of the international WLCG resources for physics exploitation. The grants asked for in this present proposal will serve on the one hand to provide the compute resources required by the experiments for physics exploitation for the next period and also to guarantee the high level of quality routine operation (in terms of reliability and availability) of an officially acknowledged national Tier-2 centre as part of WLCG, as was agreed upon by the pledges in the MoU signed by Switzerland.Operating our own Swiss Tier-2 allows us to keep the Swiss particle physics community in a competitive scientific position with respect to the other countries by maintaining a comparable level of national resources. Further, it enables the utilization and exploitation of the institutes’ investments in detector hardware and personnel by allowing appropriate analysis of LHC data, accessing the physics at the LHC, and supporting our institute-level Tier-3 analysis clusters. The work is supervised by the CHIPP Computing Board under the auspices of the Swiss Institute of Particle Physics (CHIPP). This board includes representatives from all Swiss particle physics institutes as well as CSCS. All institutes continue to rely on and strongly support the project.