Supercomputer Unlocks the Mystery of Invisible Forces

{mosimage}The Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) at Durham University, UK, is a world-leading center for computer-based cosmological research. Here, scientists conducted an eleven-day simulation on their supercomputer to study the universe’s invisible matter. This supercomputer is called the Cosmology Machine, or COSMA. Finally, on January 11, 2008, they published astonishing findings in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The information is as follows:

A slight ripple has been observed among the matter in the current universe due to special sound waves emitted a few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang. Although many of these sound waves perished during the 13 billion years since the Big Bang, simulations show that under certain conditions some of the waves survive, and that is why a few remain. In their simulations, scientists increased and decreased the amount of dark energy in the universe and observed that the length of the ripple changed accordingly. As a result, scientists believe these ripples might serve as a standard ruler for measuring dark energy and dark matter.

Professor Carlos Frenk, director of ICC, even remarked, “The ripples are the gold standard. By comparing the measured ripples to this gold standard, we can determine how the universe has expanded, and through this, we can uncover the properties of dark energy.”

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy have proposed a space mission named “SPACE” (Spectroscopic All-Sky Cosmic Explorer), based on an artificial satellite, to the European Space Agency (ESA). It is scheduled to launch in 2017. The discovery made at Durham could provide crucial information for the SPACE mission. Notably, the main goal of the SPACE mission is to search for the properties of dark energy and dark matter, and to gather information about the ultimate fate of the universe.

Glossary

ripple – হিল্লোল
dark matter – অদৃশ্য বস্তু
dark energy – অদৃশ্য শক্তি
computational cosmology – কম্পিউটারকেন্দ্রিক বিশ্বতত্ত্ব
standard ruler – আদর্শ মাপকাঠি
gold standard – সোনালী আদর্শ
cosmic vision – মহাজাগতিক দৃষ্টি