To say that our universe is a huge place is almost to underestimate it. It’s surprisingly dynamic and keeping track of all the visible and non-visible material in the cosmos requires impressive computational computation and clever coding, which is just what astrophysicists now have thanks to this latest simulation model dubbed Illustris: The Next Generation. (or IllustrisTNG) , a computer simulation that will expand the frontiers of space discovery.
“When we observe galaxies using a telescope, we can only measure certain quantities,” says astrophysicist Shy Genel of the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) at the Flatiron Institute. ” With simulation, we can trace all the properties of all these galaxies. And not just what the galaxy looks like now, but its entire formation history,” he continues.
Illustris successor
IllustrisTNG is the successor to Illustris, and is based on the contributions of researchers from CCA, MIT, Harvard University, Cambridge University, the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, and the Institute for Advanced Study; An entire international collaboration of scientists whose first simulation of the universe was released in 2015.
Specifically, this new map is actually made up of 18 simulations that cover various scales, each one representing a cubic model of space up to 1,000 million light-years wide , which tracks the evolution of the universe from just after the Big Bang to the future.
With more resolution and new physics, these improved simulations not only cover more ground, but can now accurately model the patterns of clustered galaxies and how this network changes over time. Tracking a billion square light years of galactic material, magnetic fields, and dark matter requires impressive hardware . Hence the project uses Germany’s fastest supercomputer, Hazel Hen , to do the calculations.
It took the supercomputer two months to analyze the calculations from just one of the largest simulations, accumulating 500 terabytes of data. (Logically it is much faster than waiting for a universe to grow).
“Analyzing this vast amount of data will keep us busy for years to come, and it promises many exciting new ideas in different astrophysical processes,” says Volker Springel of the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies.
The level of precision that is being achieved is fantastic. Three papers have already been published that describe the large-scale clumping of matter and help us understand how galaxies form. Of course, all that is found in the simulations are simply indicators that require more detailed inspection by astronomers.
“It is particularly fascinating that we can accurately predict the influence of supermassive black holes on the distribution of matter on large scales. It is crucial to reliably interpret upcoming cosmological measurements,” Springel clarifies.
It’s exciting to imagine what secrets a third generation Illustris might one day reveal.
Referencia: Volker Springel et al. First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: matter and galaxy clustering, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2017). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stx3304 Dylan Nelson et al. First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: the galaxy colour bimodality, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2017). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stx3040 Annalisa Pillepich et al. First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: the stellar mass content of groups and clusters of galaxies, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2017). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stx3112
The evolution of the cosmic magnetic field:
