Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have created the largest computer simulation of the universe ever attempted. Using Frontier, the world’s fastest supercomputer, the project pushes the boundaries of what scientists can learn about space.
What makes this simulation special
The simulation, powered by the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, marks a milestone in cosmological studies. Frontier’s unmatched processing power enabled researchers to simulate both ordinary matter, such as atoms, and the elusive dark matter that makes up much of the universe.
Salman Habib, the project leader said, “So, if we want to know what the universe is up to, we need to simulate both of these things.” What sets this simulation apart is the unimaginable scale. The simulation matches the size of surveys conducted by large telescopes, something that has been impossible until now.
Powered by Frontier supercomputer
Frontier, the fastest supercomputer in the world, made this achievement possible. It can handle an incredible amount of calculations, making it perfect for large, detailed projects like this. The team used a specialized tool called HACC, short for Hardware/Hybrid Accelerated Cosmology Code.
Scientists developed HACC 15 years ago, and it has been upgraded over the years to handle the power of machines like Frontier. The record-breaking simulation used 9,000 of Frontier’s computer nodes, each powered by AMD Instinct MI250X GPUs.
Before this breakthrough, the researchers tested their tool on other supercomputers, including Perlmutter at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Aurora at Argonne National Laboratory. These runs helped refine the code for the groundbreaking work on Frontier.
“It’s not only the sheer size of the physical domain, which is necessary to make direct comparison to modern survey observations enabled by exascale computing,” said Bronson Messer, a lead scientist at Oak Ridge.
“It’s also the added physical realism of including the baryons and all the other dynamic physics that makes this simulation a true tour de force for Frontier.”
What this means for Science
This achievement is a step forward in understanding the universe. By combining detailed physics with a large-scale view, scientists can study how stars, galaxies, and other cosmic structures formed and evolved over billions of years.
The work was led by Habib and a team of researchers, including Nicholas Frontiere, who managed the Frontier simulations. This success shows the power of modern supercomputers and opens doors to future discoveries in space research.