The HyperMillennium project, a Chinese-led initiative, has achieved a remarkable feat in the realm of cosmological simulation and supercomputing. This project, led by scientists at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), has unveiled the largest-ever cosmological simulation, dubbed 'HyperMillennium'. The findings of this project have been hailed as a 'computational marvel' by international peers, marking a significant milestone for China in the field of digital simulation.
The project's success lies in its complete independence from foreign computing resources. Over a decade, the NAOC team has developed their own software, PhotoNs, and utilized domestic supercomputers to achieve long-duration computing capabilities. This end-to-end solution, built from scratch, showcases China's ability to lead in the field of cosmological numerical simulations. Wang Qiao, a research fellow at NAOC, emphasizes the project's landmark significance, highlighting the shift from relying on foreign computing resources to conducting frontier research based on domestically developed systems.
The project's computing and storage support was provided by China's leading supercomputer manufacturer, Dawning Information Industry Co. Ltd. (Sugon). Sugon's stable and reliable support was crucial for handling the massive data generated by the simulation, ensuring efficient data processing and long-term preservation. This domestic support is a key advantage, as Wang explains that leading the project independently allows China to control its future direction.
The HyperMillennium simulation covers an immense virtual universe, a cube with a side length of 12 billion light-years, using 4.2 trillion virtual dark matter particles. By employing N-body numerical simulation, the team accurately recreated the evolution of large-scale structures in the universe over 10 billion years. This simulation provides theoretical support for dark matter and dark energy research and offers valuable insights for new-generation galaxy survey programs.
The project's impact extends beyond theoretical research. Mike Boylan-Kolchin of the University of Texas at Austin praises the simulation's potential to revolutionize our understanding of dark energy, cosmological inflation, and neutrino properties. Volker Springel, director of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany, emphasizes the simulation's statistical power, enabling new precision tests of the LambdaCDM cosmological model. The project's data will be instrumental in supporting major sky survey projects, including the China Space Station Telescope and the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope.
What's more, the HyperMillennium project has a unique approach to science communication. Wang highlights the project's partnership with museums and institutions to transform abstract data into visually stunning images and films. These artistic creations, supported by real data, present the universe's history and evolution in a captivating manner. This approach not only enhances science communication but also promotes cultural outreach, making complex cosmological simulations more accessible to the public.
