The FLAMINGO simulations, the largest ever computer simulations from the Big Bang to the present day, have been carried out by astronomers to study the evolution of the Universe. The simulations calculate the evolution of all components of the Universe, including ordinary matter like stars and planets, dark matter, and dark energy, based on the laws of physics. The team behind FLAMINGO, from Durham University, UK, Leiden University, the Netherlands, and Liverpool John Moores University, UK, hope the simulations will allow researchers to compare the virtual Universe with observations of the real thing being captured by new high-powered telescopes, like the James Webb Space telescope. The first research papers from FLAMINGO have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The simulations took more than 50 million processor hours on the Cosmology Machine (COSMA 8) supercomputer.
Collaborative International Team
Astronomers from Durham University, Leiden University, and Liverpool John Moores University have conducted the largest-ever computer simulations of the universe’s evolution from the Big Bang to the present day. The FLAMINGO simulations calculate the evolution of all components of the universe, including ordinary matter, dark matter, and dark energy. The simulations will allow researchers to compare the virtual universe with real observations from high-powered telescopes like the James Webb Space telescope. The first research papers from FLAMINGO have been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Groundbreaking Universe Simulations Conducted by Astronomers
Astronomers have conducted the largest ever computer simulations from the Big Bang to the present day to study the evolution of the Universe. The simulations, known as FLAMINGO, calculate the evolution of all components of the Universe, including ordinary matter like stars and planets, dark matter, and dark energy, based on the laws of physics. As the simulations progress, virtual galaxies and galaxy clusters emerge in precise detail. The team behind FLAMINGO, from Durham University, UK, Leiden University, the Netherlands, and Liverpool John Moores University, UK, hope the simulations will allow researchers to compare the virtual Universe with observations of the real thing being captured by new high-powered telescopes, like the James Webb Space telescope.
The Importance of Ordinary Matter and Neutrinos in Universe Evolution
Previous simulations, which have been compared to observations of the Universe, have focused on cold dark matter – believed to be a key component of the structure of the cosmos. However, astronomers now say that the effect of ordinary matter, which makes up only sixteen per cent of all matter in the Universe, and neutrinos, tiny particles that rarely interact with normal matter, also need to be taken into account when trying to understand the Universe’s evolution. FLAMINGO Principal Investigator Professor Joop Schaye, of Leiden University, said: “Although the dark matter dominates gravity, the contribution of ordinary matter can no longer be neglected since that contribution could be similar to the deviations between the models and the observations.”
“Cosmology is at a crossroads. We have amazing new data from powerful telescopes some of which do not, at first sight, conform to our theoretical expectations. Either the standard model of cosmology is flawed or there are subtle biases in the observational data. Our super precise simulations of the Universe should be able to tell us the answer.”
FLAMINGO research collaborator Professor Carlos Frenk, Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics, in the Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University
The Role of Supercomputers in Universe Simulations
The FLAMINGO simulations tracked the formation of the Universe’s structure in dark matter, ordinary matter and neutrinos, following the standard model of physics. The team ran the simulations at a powerful supercomputer in Durham over the past two years using different resolutions and also altered other factors such as the strength of galactic winds and the mass of the neutrinos. The first results showed that the inclusion of ordinary matter and neutrinos in the simulations is essential for making accurate predictions.
The Impact of New Telescopes on Understanding Universe Evolution
New telescopes, such as the international “Dark Energy Survey Instrument” and the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope, are collecting huge amounts of data about galaxies, quasars and stars, and these observations are posing questions about the theories behind current understanding of the evolution of the Universe. Simulations like FLAMINGO will play a key role in interpreting this data by comparing theoretical predictions with observational data.
The Future of Cosmological Simulations and Data Analysis
The simulations took more than 50 million processor hours on the Cosmology Machine (COSMA 8) supercomputer. To make the FLAMINGO simulations possible, the researchers developed a new code, called SWIFT, which efficiently distributes the computational work over thousands of Central Processing Units (CPUs, sometimes as many as 65,000. The large amount of (virtual) data created by the simulations provides opportunities to make new theoretical discoveries and to test new data analysis techniques, including machine learning. FLAMINGO is a project of the Durham-based VIRGO consortium for cosmological supercomputer simulations. The acronym stands for Full-hydro Large-scale structure simulations with All-sky Mapping for the Interpretation of Next Generation Observations.
“Although the dark matter dominates gravity, the contribution of ordinary matter can no longer be neglected since that contribution could be similar to the deviations between the models and the observations.”
FLAMINGO Principal Investigator Professor Joop Schaye, of Leiden University
Summary
Astronomers have conducted the largest-ever computer simulations of the Universe’s evolution from the Big Bang to the present day, incorporating not just dark matter but also ordinary matter and neutrinos. The findings from these simulations, known as FLAMINGO, will be compared with real observations from high-powered telescopes to test the accuracy of the standard model of cosmology.
- Astronomers have conducted the largest-ever computer simulations of the Universe’s evolution from the Big Bang to the present day. The project, named FLAMINGO, was carried out by teams from Durham University, UK, Leiden University, the Netherlands, and Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
- The simulations calculate the evolution of all components of the Universe, including ordinary matter, dark matter, and dark energy, based on the laws of physics. As the simulations progress, virtual galaxies and galaxy clusters emerge in detail.
- The researchers hope the simulations will allow comparison with observations of the real Universe being captured by new high-powered telescopes, such as the James Webb Space telescope. This could help verify if the standard model of cosmology accurately describes reality.
- The first research papers from FLAMINGO have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
- The simulations tracked the formation of the Universe’s structure in dark matter, ordinary matter, and neutrinos, following the standard model of physics. The first results showed that the inclusion of ordinary matter and neutrinos is essential for making accurate predictions.
- The simulations were run on a powerful supercomputer in Durham over the past two years using different resolutions and altering factors such as the strength of galactic winds and the mass of the neutrinos.
- The FLAMINGO project is part of the Durham-based VIRGO consortium for cosmological supercomputer simulations. Funding came from the European Research Council, the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, and the Swiss National Science Foundation.