科学家使用超级计算机模拟宇宙起源
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-10-30 03:14 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Understanding dark energy(暗力量) is the number one issue in explaining the universe, according to Salman Habib, of the Laboratory's Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology group. "Because the universe is expanding and at the same time accelerating, either there is a huge gap in our understanding of physics, or there is a strange new form of matter that dominates the universe – 'dark energy' – making up about 70 percent of it," said Habib. "In addition, there is five times more of an unknown 'dark matter' than there is ordinary matter in the universe, and we know it's there from many different observations, most spectacularly(令人吃惊地,引人注目地), we've seen it bend light in pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope, but its origin is also not understood."

Even though it's looking at only a small segment of the "accessible" universe, Habib's "Roadrunner Universe" model requires a petascale(千万亿次) computer because, like the universe, it's mind-bendingly large. The model's basic unit is a particle with a mass of approximately one billion suns (in order to sample galaxies1 with masses of about a trillion suns), and it includes 64 billion and more of those particles.

The model is one of the largest simulations of the distribution of matter in the universe, and aims to look at galaxy-scale mass concentrations above and beyond quantities seen in state-of-the-art sky surveys.

"We are trying to really understand how to more completely and more accurately2 describe the observable universe(可观测宇宙), so we can help in the design of future experiments and interpret observations from ongoing3 observations like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III. We are particularly interested in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) in Chile, in which LANL is an institutional member, and DOE and NASA's Joint4 Dark Energy Mission (JDEM)," said Habib. "To do the science in any sort of reasonable amount of time requires a petascale machine at the least."

The Roadrunner Universe model relies on a hierarchical(分层的,体系的) grid/particle algorithm(算法) that best matches the physical aspects of the simulation to the hybrid5(混合的,杂种的) architecture of Roadrunner. Habib and his team wrote an entirely6 new computer code that aggressively exploits Roadrunner's hybrid architecture and makes full use of the PowerXCell 8i computational accelerators. They also created a dedicated7 analysis and visualization8 software framework to handle the huge simulation database.

"Our effort is aimed at pushing the current state of the art by three orders of magnitude(数量级) in terms of computational and scientific throughput(吞吐量)," said Habib. I'm confident the final database created by Roadrunner will be an essential component9 of dark universe science for years to come."



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1 galaxies fa8833b92b82bcb88ee3b3d7644caf77     
星系( galaxy的名词复数 ); 银河系; 一群(杰出或著名的人物)
参考例句:
  • Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
  • We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。
2 accurately oJHyf     
adv.准确地,精确地
参考例句:
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
3 ongoing 6RvzT     
adj.进行中的,前进的
参考例句:
  • The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
  • The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。
4 joint m3lx4     
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合
参考例句:
  • I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
  • We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
5 hybrid pcBzu     
n.(动,植)杂种,混合物
参考例句:
  • That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
  • The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。
6 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
7 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的
参考例句:
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
8 visualization 5cb21f7c94235e860596a2dfd90ccf82     
n.想像,设想
参考例句:
  • In 2D visualization and drawing applications, vertical and horizontal scrolling are common. 在二维的可视化及绘图应用中,垂直和水平滚动非常普遍。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
  • Ophthalmoscopy affords the only opportunity for direct visualization of blood vessels. 检眼镜检查法提供直接观察血管的唯一机会。
9 component epSzv     
n.组成部分,成分,元件;adj.组成的,合成的
参考例句:
  • Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
  • Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。
TAG标签: energy dark universe origin
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