Probing the universe with cosmic rays using high performance computing

Abstract

I report on the research activities of the South African Centre for High Performance Computing carried out at the Unit for Space Physics at North-West University, Potchefstroom, during 2007/8. Background is given on the aims of the centre and the first three flagship projects that were selected in 2006 for computational-intensive tasks. The project in Computational Space Physics and Astrophysics, called 'Cosmic rays and us : From birth to death', is described in detail, and a summary given of research highlights so far