Life is a Video Game

First-ever model simulation of the structuring of the observable universe

A team of researchers from the Laboratoire Univers et Theorie (France) coordinated by Jean-Michel Alimi has performed the first-ever computer model simulation of the structuring of the entire observable universe, from the Big Bang to the present day.

The simulation has made it possible to follow the evolution of 550 billion particles. This is the first of three runs which are part of an exceptional project called Deus: full universe run, carried out using GENCI’s new supercomputer CURIE at the CEA’s Très Grand Centre de Calcul (TGCC). This simulation, along with the two additional runs expected by late May 2012, will provide outstanding support for future projects dedicated to the observation and mapping of the universe. These simulations will shed light on the nature of dark energy and its effects on cosmic structure formation, and hence on the distribution of dark matter and galaxies in the universe.

After several years’ research, six scientists of the cosmology group at LUTH have performed the first-ever computer model simulation of the structuring of the entire observable universe, from the Big Bang to the present day. This first simulation of the standard model of the universe with a cosmological constant will be followed by two additional runs focusing on the cosmological evolution of models with dark energy, the mysterious component introduced to account for the accelerated expansion of the universe. What imprint does dark energy leave on cosmic structures? And inversely, how can the nature of dark energy be inferred from observing the distribution of matter in the universe? These are two fundamental questions that the project Deus : full universe run will seek to answer…

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