Computing Challenges for the Einstein Telescope project

EPJ Web of Conferences, vol. 295, pp. 04015

Abstract

The discovery of gravitational waves, first observed in September 2015 following the merger of a binary black hole system, has already revolutionised our understanding of the Universe. This was further enhanced in August 2017, when the coalescence of a binary neutron star system was observed both with gravitational waves and a variety of electromagnetic counterparts; this joint observation marked the beginning of gravitational multimessenger astronomy. The Einstein Telescope, a proposed next-generation ground-based gravitational-wave observatory, will dramatically increase the sensitivity to sources: the number of observations of gravitational waves is expected to increase from roughly 100 per year to roughly 100’000 per year, and signals may be visible for hours at a time, given the low frequency cutoff of the planned instrument. This increase in the number of observed events, and the duration with which they are observed, is hugely beneficial to the scientific goals of the community but poses a number of significant computing challenges. Moreover, the currently used computing algorithms do not scale to this new environment, both in terms of the amount of resources required and the speed with which each signal must be characterised. This contribution will discuss the Einstein Telescope's computing challenges, and the activities that are underway to prepare for them. Available computing resources and technologies will greatly evolve in the years ahead, and those working to develop the Einstein Telescope data analysis algorithms will need to take this into account. It will also be important to factor into the initial development of the experiment's computing model the availability of huge parallel HPC systems and ubiquitous Cloud computing; the design of the model will also, for the first time, include the environmental impact as one of the optimisation metrics.

Authors 16

1. S. Bagnasco

   Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino

   Affiliation as printed

   Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, I-10125 Torino, Italy

2. A. Bozzi

   European Gravitational Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   European Gravitational Observatory, I-56021 Cascina (PI) Italy

3. Tassos Fragos

   University of Geneva

   Affiliation as printed

   Départment d'Astronomie, Université de Genève, Chemin Pegasi 51, CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland

   Gravitational Wave Science Center (GWSC), Université de Genève, 24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland

4. Alba Gonzalvez

   Barcelona Supercomputing Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Barcelona Supercomputing Center, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain)

5. G. Hemming

   European Gravitational Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   European Gravitational Observatory, I-56021 Cascina (PI) Italy

6. L. Lavezzi

   Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino

   Affiliation as printed

   Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, I-10125 Torino, Italy

7. Paul Laycock

   University of Geneva

   Affiliation as printed

   Départment d'Astronomie, Université de Genève, Chemin Pegasi 51, CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland

   Gravitational Wave Science Center (GWSC), Université de Genève, 24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland

8. Gonzalo Merino

   Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona · Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas · Port d'Informació Científica

   Affiliation as printed

   Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), E-28040 Madrid, Spain

   Port d’Informació Científica (PIC), Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain

   Port d'Informació Científica (PIC), Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain

9. Silvio Pardi

   Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli

   Affiliation as printed

   Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli, I-80126 Napoli, Italy

10. S. Schramm

    University of Geneva

    Affiliation as printed

    Département de Physique Nucléaire et Corpusculaire, Université de Genève, 24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland

    Gravitational Wave Science Center (GWSC), Université de Genève, 24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland

11. A. Stahl Aachen III. Physikalisches Institut

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    III. Physikalisches Institut, RWTH Aachen University, D-57024 Aachen, Germany

12. Andres Jorge Tanasijczuk

    UCLouvain

    Affiliation as printed

    Université Catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

13. N. Tonello

    Barcelona Supercomputing Center

    Affiliation as printed

    Barcelona Supercomputing Center, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain)

14. Sara Vallero

    Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino

    Affiliation as printed

    Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, I-10125 Torino, Italy

15. John Veitch

    University of Glasgow

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Gravitational Research, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom

16. P. Verdier

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules · Lyon 1 Université · Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon

    Affiliation as printed

    Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon - IN2P3, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, F69622 Villeurbanne, France