Physics Colloquium on "Forming the milky way on a supercomputer"

Abstract:

Dark matter is the dominant form of matter in the Universe, yet itsphysical nature is still unknown. Even more mysterious is the cosmic darkenergy, which dominates today's energy content and has begun to drive anaccelerated expansion of the Universe. High-resolution simulations ofcosmic structure formation have become a primary theoretical tool forunderstanding galaxy formation in such a dark universe, from the Big Bangto the present epoch. The talk will discuss predictions for thedistribution of the dark matter made possible by simulation models, and howthis informs the ongoing hunt for the dark matter particles. Modernnumerical techniques even allow a faithful treatment of the baryonicsector, directly predicting the distribution of stars and supermassiveblack holes that make up galaxies. Successes and challengesof suchsimulations, as well as implications for the standard model of cosmology,will be highlighted.

Monday, 2 June 2014
Time: 5:15 pm
Lecture Hall P, Hubland Süd, Physikalisches Institut