The Importance of Simulation

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We're dividing space up into cubes and every cube might contain the equivalent of lots of stars. That's how we track something like gas through the universe. We do have one of these sub grid rules that looks at each individual grid cube, if you like,. And it says, is the bit inside here suitable for forming stars? It doesn't have the right conditions. So this is then going a little bit more back to that laboratory setting where you imagine now, OK, I've got a dot, as well as the grid, I've also got a dot in my simulation. The dot is going to be allowed to move around. It's going to basically follow the trajectory determined by gravitational

It's somewhat amazing that cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, can make any progress at all. But it has, especially so in recent decades. Partly that's because nature has been kind to us in some ways: the universe is quite a simple place on large scales and at early times. Another reason is a leap forward in the data we have collected, and in the growing use of a powerful tool: computer simulations. I talk with cosmologist Andrew Pontzen on what we know about the universe, and how simulations have helped us figure it out. We also touch on hot topics in cosmology (early galaxies discovered by JWST) as well as philosophical issues (are simulations data or theory?).

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Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/06/19/240-andrew-pontz…and-the-universe/

Andrew Pontzen received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Cambridge. He is currently Professor of Cosmology at University College London. In addition to his research in cosmology, he frequently writes popular articles and appears in science documentaries. His new book is The Universe in a Box: Simulations and the Quest to Code the Cosmos.

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