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Experiment in the field of physics gives Brazil more visibility

Computational grid technology enables simulations of physical theories at UFRJ

Brazil took an important step in the field of high energy physics. Since the beginning of August, LHCb’s simulation programs run in the computers of the Physics Institute (PI) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). LHCb is one of the four experiments of the LHC particle accelerator, which is being built at Cern (European Center of Nuclear Research), in Switzerland, and it validates the fundamental theories of physics. In the realm of Eela project, UFRJ’s initiative is new in the country. Eela is the result of the cooperation between Latin America and Europe, which, through computational grid technology, enables advanced applications to be used in the scientific field. UFRJ’s Physics Institute is connected to the project through the National Education and Research Network (Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa - RNP).

The quantity of data generated by the experiment is so huge that 20 thousand computers working 24 hours a day are necessary to analyze this information. UFRJ’s initiative already shares the results of LHCb’s simulations with over 20 countries participating in this experiment, considered one of the most important ones by the scientific community. When LHC’s construction is over, which should happen at the end of 2007, the scientific investigation will take place at Cern. LHC is a circular underground tunnel having a circumference of 27 km and placed 100 meters under the ground.

LHC is a powerful tool that accelerates particles almost to the speed of light. Besides LHCb, three more experiments will be conducted inside the accelerator: Alice, Atlas and CMS. All of them have a detector which will make the particles visible at the time of their collision in LHC. In the case of LHCb experiment, the goal is to reproduce the conditions of the beginning of the universe.

Grid technology can increase data processing capacity 100 times, and it should give Brazil more visibility in the field of high energy physics. This system update will generate a greater traffic demand between Latin America and Europe, through Clara Network. The experiments carried out in LHC will produce millions of gigabits of data per year, and not even Cern will have enough capacity to process so much information. Brazil will be an important partner in this initiative, and the country has already started showing this. We are very well connected, says Diego Carvalho, computer system engineer and manager of Eela project’s grid pilot at UFRJ.

Who participates in Eela?

Eela initiative gathers 10 countries and 21 institutions in Latin America and Europe, and it counts on financing from the European Union. In Brazil, besides RNP and UFRJ, the Federal Fluminense University (UFF) and Cederj (the consortium of public universities in Rio de Janeiro) also participate in the project.

[RNP, 08.23.2006]