Researchers develop new computer simulations for these phenomena

Apr 17, 2012 18:21 GMT  ·  By
The Antenna Galaxies represent one of the most renowned instances of galactic mergers going on today
   The Antenna Galaxies represent one of the most renowned instances of galactic mergers going on today

A collaboration of researchers in the United States announces the development of a new series of advanced tools for understanding how galactic mergers occur. The new computer models take into account a wide variety of factors that influence the outcome of such large-scale phenomena.

The sophisticated computer simulations are capable of providing a lot more details than ever before, say investigators with the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Astrophysicists explain that galaxies can be thought of as basic units in space. They interact with each other through the force of gravity, which is generated by both baryonic matter and dark matter.

Understanding how this force makes galaxies interact is very important for figuring out how the Universe has evolved since the time of the Big Bang. In addition, learning more about these occurrences can also reveal more data on stellar formation and a host of related processes.

Information obtained from these computer models could also be used to explain how and why black holes at the core of large galaxies produce monstrously large jets of energy from their poles.

The simulations were developed by KIPAC graduate student Peter Behroozi, professor Risa Wechsler, and KIPAC alumna Heidi Wu. Unlike previous attempts at developing complex models, their algorithms take into account both position and velocity information for each galaxy in a merger model.

“It is difficult to completely resolve the details of two interacting galaxies simply by observing them. So scientists devise computer simulations of millions of galaxies evolving through the history of the universe, hoping to see mergers in process,” scientists at Stanford University say in a statement.

The new approach solves a common problem in this type of models, which is the loss of fine details during large-scale simulations. The Robust Overdensity Calculation using K-Space Topologically Adaptive Refinement (ROCKSTAR) algorithm compensates for this problem.

“In essence, the program accounts for the speed, location and direction of the galactic elements. The result is a highly detailed picture of galaxy formation and disruption,” the Stanford statement continues.

Extrapolating from these data, it may become possible for scientists to gain additional insight into the mass-energy budget of the Universe, which is made up of baryonic matter, dark matter and dark energy.