The Universe at extreme scale: Multi-petaflop sky simulation on the BG/Q
Remarkable observational advances have established a compelling cross-validated model of the Universe. Yet, two key pillars of this model -- dark matter and dark energy -- remain mysterious. Next-generation sky surveys will map billions of galaxies to explore the physics of the 'Dark Universe'. Science requirements for these surveys demand simulations at extreme scales; these will be delivered by the HACC (Hybrid/Hardware Accelerated Cosmology Code) framework. HACC's novel algorithmic structure allows tuning across diverse architectures, including accelerated and multi-core systems. On the IBM BG/Q, HACC attains unprecedented scalable performance - currently 6.23 PFlops at 62% of peak and 92% parallel efficiency on 786,432 cores (48 racks) - at extreme problem sizes with up to almost two trillion particles, larger than any cosmological simulation yet performed. HACC simulations at these scales will for the first time enable tracking individual galaxies over the entire volume of a cosmological survey.