First full universe simulation zooms in on dark matter

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

Most of the universe is thought to be made up of mysterious dark matter that nobody has ever seen. Now you can get a glimpse of what its structure might look like thanks to the first simulation that spans the whole observable universe.?

Created by Jean-Michel Alimi?from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and colleagues from the DEUS consortium, the model covers 90 billion light years, which is the size of the universe that we are able to see, and follows 550 billion particles the mass of our Milky Way. This video starts with a large scale view of the distribution of dark matter in the cosmos today, which looks quite homogeneous. But as it zooms in, its structure becomes visible, showing clumps and filaments separated by expanses of void.

The simulation traces the evolution of dark matter as predicted by the standard model of cosmology, from the time the universe was in its infancy to the present. It mimics gravitational forces between all the clumps and the fact that they are moving in an expanding universe.

The team plans to complete further simulations using two other cosmological models. If dark matter is ever observed, a comparison with these theoretical results could help determine which model is valid.

The system should also be sophisticated enough to generate a more detailed picture of the universe. "These simulations concern only gravity and dark matter," says Pier-Stefano Corasaniti, a member of the team. "But I think the performance of the algorithms are becoming efficient enough to run simulations that include baryonic gas or dark energy fluid itself."

If you enjoyed this post, see what the shape of dark matter around the Milky Way might look like or watch our One-Minute Physics episode about dark matter.

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