John von Neumann Excellence Project 2012: The Small Scale Structure of the Universe
Large scale dark matter distribution and a selection of dark matter halos from a simulation of the Andromeda galaxy.
Credit: S. Gottlöber, G. Yepes, A. Klypin, A. KhalatyanThe proposal "The Small Scale Structure of the Universe" for Supercomputer Time by Stefan Gottlöber from AIP was now highlighted as Excellence Project 2012 by the John von Neumann Institute for Computing. The proposal is part of the CLUES - Constrained Local UniversE Simulations - project.
In the framework of the CLUES-Project (www.clues-project.org) we are studying the formation of our Milky Way and its neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, by means of computer experiments. We simulate, how these galaxies have evolved from those small density fluctuations which existed 13 billions years ago in the Universe, and which are still observable today in the cosmic microwave background. In order to understand the formation of galaxies, we must assume the existence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Baryonic matter, of which Earth and all stars are made, only contributes a very small part - about 5% - to the total density of the Universe. Nearby cosmic objects like the Milky Way and Andromeda can be observed in great detail. These observations in comparison with our simulations allow for a better understanding of the formation of different types of galaxies in the Universe and for conclusions about the properties of the yet unknown Dark Matter.
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Large scale dark matter distribution and a selection of dark matter halos from a simulation of the Andromeda galaxy.
Stefan Gottlöber.
