No Mode Left Behind: New Methods for Precision Cosmology

宇宙的大尺度结构包括星系团。这些星系团的大小和星系团内星系的间隔取决于暗物质的性质。该项目将使用计算机和人工智能来模拟这种大规模结构的增长，使用一种新的方法，将在更大范围的暗物质条件下产生更详细的模型。这些模型可以与对星系团的观测进行比较，以提高我们对暗物质的理解。这些模型还将用于制作公共宣传和教育的视频。用户将能够“飞越”宇宙，以可视化大尺度结构。该项目将开发一个模拟器，该模拟器可以基于参数空间内相邻参数集的全n体模拟，为特定参数集再现预期的大规模结构属性。因此，计算成本较高的高分辨率模拟可以在稀疏的参数集上完成，然后模拟器将能够填充其余的参数空间。大尺度结构模型的更高分辨率将使当前和未来的调查能够探测亚百万秒差距水平的尺度，而不是目前的~10百万秒差距分辨率。该项目将使用这些模拟的数据制作大型结构的“飞过”三维可视化，用于公共宣传和教育。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The large scale structure of the universe includes clusters of galaxies. The size of these clusters and the spacing of galaxies within the clusters depends on the nature of dark matter. This project will use computers and artificial intelligence to model the growth of this large scale structure, using a new method that will produce more detailed models over a wider range of dark matter conditions. These models can be compared with observations of galaxy clusters to improve our understanding of dark matter. These models also will be used to produce videos for public outreach and education. Users will be able to "fly through" the universe to visualize the large scale structure. The project will develop an emulator that can reproduce expected large scale structure properties for a particular parameter set based on full N-body simulations of neighboring parameters sets within parameter space. Thus, the more computationally expensive high-resolution simulations can done over a sparse set of parameters and then the emulator will be able to fill in the rest of parameter space. The higher resolution of the large scale structure models will allow current and future surveys to probe scales at the sub-megaparsec level, instead of the current resolutions of ~10 Mpc. The project will use the data from these simulations to produce "fly-through" 3 dimensional visualizations of large scale structure for use in public outreach and education.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.