The largest and most detailed simulation of the early universe created

A simulation of the early universe has been developed, in which the universe changed from a completely dark place to a bright, light-filled environment following the Big Bang, which took place approximately 13.8 years ago. The simulation sheds light on the formation and reionization of the first galaxies.

Supercomputer was used for simulation

MIT, Harvard University and Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics researchers, with a new simulation they call Thesan, is the process that enables light to spread to the entire universe by converting neutral hydrogen atoms in space into positively charged or ionized hydrogen. They focus on reionization. The team will study the interactions between gases, gravity and radiation for reionization.

Researchers will be able to run the simulation forward in time to track and visualize the first appearance and evolution of hundreds of thousands of galaxies in this space during the first billion years and approximately 400,000 years after the Big Bang.

To determine initial conditions for about 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the team used precise measurements of residual light from the Big Bang. After determining the initial conditions, they developed the conditions forward in time to simulate some of the universe’s formation. SuperMUC-NG, one of the world’s largest supercomputers, was used during this process. Researchers state that this process can be performed in 3,500 years with a normal computer.

Thesan Initial data from . It was also deduced that the mass of the galaxy providing the reionization has the possibility to affect the reionization.