UZH Plays a Key Role in Simulating the Universe

(CONNECT) The European SpaceAgency (ESA) has published the largest simulation of the universe to date as part of its Euclid mission. According to a press release, the mathematical algorithm required for this was developed at the University of Zurich (UZH).

The simulation shows 3.4 billion galaxies, each with 400 different parameters such as the brightness, position, speed or shape of a galaxy. The algorithm required for the calculation was developed by UZH astrophysicist Joachim Stadel. The calculations were carried out on the high-performance computer Piz Daint at the Swiss Center for Supercomputing CSCS in Lugano. The calculations took into account the movements of 4 trillion particles, including the effects of their mutual gravitational forces "It was a huge challenge to be able to simulate such a large part of the universe with such a high resolution in one calculation," Joachim Stadel is quoted as saying in the press release.

The new simulation is intended to supplement the existing standard model of the cosmos. It is compared with the data measured by the Euclid satellite since June 2023. These make it possible to trace the past of the universe back up to 10 billion years. Astrophysicists hope to gain a better understanding of the expansion of the universe and of physical phenomena such as dark energy. ce/ww