Chinese-led supercomputer simulation recreates 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution

A Chinese-led team of scientists has recreated the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to the present day using one of the largest and most advanced cosmological simulations ever conducted, reports  China Daily, a partner of TV BRICS.

The project, known as HyperMillennium, was led by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with international researchers. The simulation models a virtual region of space spanning 12 billion light years and tracks the evolution of 4.2 trillion dark matter particles over 13.8 billion years of cosmic history.

Scientists say the breakthrough could significantly advance understanding of dark matter, galaxy formation and the large-scale structure of the universe.

According to Gao Liang, who leads the project, traditional telescope observations only capture static snapshots of distant galaxies from different moments in cosmic history, making it impossible to observe the universe evolving in real time.

"Cosmological simulations are the key to solving this puzzle. By calculating the gravitational interactions among vast numbers of virtual dark matter particles, they can reconstruct – with high precision – the evolution of the universe from its early days to the present, allowing us to directly 'see' how dark matter particles cluster, distribute, and form structures over time," Gao explained.

Dark matter – believed to account for around 85 per cent of all matter in the universe – cannot be observed directly because it does not emit or absorb light. Scientists describe it as the invisible framework upon which galaxies and cosmic structures are built.

Researchers used China’s ORISE supercomputer to run the simulation, processing approximately 13 petabytes of data – equivalent to around 13 million high-definition films. The project required 16,000 accelerator computing cards operating continuously for 18 days, demonstrating major advances in high-performance computing capabilities.

The simulation was designed to meet the growing demands of next-generation astronomical surveys, including the Euclid mission and the China Space Station Telescope. Scientists say these projects require simulations capable of combining enormous cosmic volumes with extremely high resolution. International experts have already described the project as a landmark achievement in computational cosmology.