AI Boosts Precision in Dark Energy Analysis, Reveals Universe’s Expansion Secrets
Dark energy, an influential force driving the universe’s expansion, makes up around 70% of the total content of the cosmos. In comparison, dark matter and normal matter constitute 25% and 5%, respectively. Researchers at UCL Physics and Astronomy, led by Dr. Niall Jeffrey, have made a significant breakthrough in understanding fundamental universal properties.
By utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze simulations of different universes, the team has doubled their precision in estimating crucial aspects. Dr. Jeffrey highlighted that achieving such accuracy through conventional methods would require four times the data or mapping an additional 300 million galaxies.
Dr. Lorne Whiteway, also from UCL Physics and Astronomy, discussed the implications of these findings on existing cosmological models, particularly the cosmological constant. This research has opened up possibilities for alternative explanations, including potential inaccuracies in our current comprehension of gravity.
This study expands on the 2021 Dark Energy Survey analysis but with enhanced precision. The survey used weak gravitational lensing to examine the distribution of matter across a significant portion of the Southern Hemisphere’s sky, studying light distortions from approximately 100 million galaxies.
Through simulations of various universe models with UK government-funded supercomputers and the application of machine learning for analysis, researchers have pioneered a new approach. These advancements were made feasible thanks to the UK’s DiRAC High-Performance Computing facility.
Looking ahead, projects such as the European Space Agency‘s Euclid mission aim to broaden our knowledge of the universe’s structure. This initiative holds the promise of resolving the existing discordance between the observed smoothness of the universe and predictions from cosmic microwave background analysis.
The global effort of the Dark Energy Survey collaboration, spearheaded by UCL and hosted by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, has meticulously cataloged hundreds of millions of galaxies. The pivotal 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera, situated at Chile’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, has played a crucial role in this groundbreaking research.
