How did we come to be? How was the universe created? Those are questions that astrophysicists have pondered and explored for many years.
Now, scientists at MIT, Harvard University, and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics have developed a detailed view of how the universe may have unfolded after the big bang, according to a press statement by MIT published on Thursday.
They have named their new simulation Thesan after the Etruscan goddess of the dawn and it is designed to recreate the cosmic reionization period, a mysterious time that has often perplexed astrophysicists.
The simulation is being used to answer long-standing questions about our universe such as how far light could travel in the early universe and which galaxies were responsible for reionization.
“Thesan acts as a bridge to the early universe,” said Aaron Smith, a NASA Einstein Fellow in MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “It is intended to serve as an ideal simulation counterpart for upcoming observational facilities, which are poised to fundamentally alter our understanding of the cosmos.”
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