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New supercomputer simulation reveals how the universe formed
Yahoo • • science
Key Points:
- Astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have developed Lumina, the most detailed simulation of the universe's first two billion years, offering a virtual look at cosmic evolution during its infancy.
- Lumina simulates a 1.5 billion light-year-wide cube of space, tracking the transformation of early universe ingredients like dark matter, gas, hydrogen, and helium into galaxies and other cosmic structures.
- The simulation was powered by over 15,000 GPUs on the Frontier supercomputer, enabling a space volume over 100 times larger than previous models while maintaining detailed resolution of individual galaxies and black holes.
- Researchers can compare Lumina's predictions with observations from telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope to validate or challenge current theories about the early universe's formation and evolution.
- This work marks a significant advance in astrophysics, providing a dynamic tool to explore the universe's formative period and potentially identify gaps or new directions in cosmological understanding.
