Cosmic computationsfrom Cook County IL

"Scientists at the University of Chicago have bolstered the case for a popular scenario of the 'big bang' theory that neatly explains the arrangement of galaxies throughout the universe. Their supercomputer simulation shows how dark matter, an invisible material of unknown composition, herded luminous matter in the universe from its initial smooth state into the cosmic web of galaxies and galaxy clusters that populate the universe.



"Previous studies by other researchers had already verified the main features of this scenario, called the cold dark matter model. The Chicago team further extended this work by comparing the results of their supercomputer simulations to the newest, most detailed astronomical observations available today. They found an excellent fit, and they did so without basing their simulations on a lot of complex assumptions...

"The Chicago scientists based their supercomputer simulations on the assumption that galaxies form in the center of dark-matter halos.

"According to this scheme, gravity causes the dark matter in these regions to collapse into halos. These halos provide a central location where normal matter consisting of hydrogen, helium and a small amount of heavier elements would collect in gaseous form. Once this gas had cooled and condensed, it achieved sufficient density for star formation to begin on a galactic scale.

"When the Chicago team compared the distribution of galaxies in its cyber universe to the real one, 'that scheme turned out to work extremely well,' said Andrey Kravtsov, associate professor in astronomy and astrophysics. 'It wasn't guaranteed that it would actually work so well in reproducing the data.'"

via robotwisdom