Flash Galaxy Cluster Merger, Simulated using the Flash Code, Mass Ratio 1:1

Since structure in the universe forms in a bottom-up fashion, with smaller structures merging to form larger ones, modeling the merging process in detail is crucial to our understanding of cosmology. At the current epoch, we observe clusters of galaxies undergoing mergers. It is seen that the two major components of galaxy clusters, the hot intracluster gas and the dark matter, behave very differently during the course of a merger. Using the N-body and hydrodynamics capabilities in the FLASH code, we have simulated a suite of representative galaxy cluster mergers, including the dynamics of both the dark matter, which is collisionless, and the gas, which has the properties of a fluid. 3-D visualizations such as these demonstrate clearly the different behavior of these two components over time.

Credits:
Science: John Zuhone (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Visualization: Jonathan Gallagher (Flash Center, University of Chicago)



This research used resources of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility at Argonne National Laboratory, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357. This research was supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Academic Strategic Alliance Program (ASAP).

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Galaxy
• Cluster
• Merger
• science
• technology
• space
• astronomy
• supernova
• stars
• argonne
• national
• laboratory
• supercomputer
• Flash
• Center
• SciDAC

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