Supercomputer simulations help solve mystery behind stars formation

The most practical supercomputer simulations of galaxies have recently helped solve the longstanding interstellar mystery of why stars form, it has been revealed.

Theoretical astrophysicist Philip Hopkins of the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) led research that found that stellar activity, like supernova explosions or even just starlight, plays a big part in the formation of other stars and the growth of galaxies.

Hopkins said that feedback from stars, the collective effects from supernovae, radiation, heating, pushing on gas, and stellar winds can regulate the growth of galaxies and explain why galaxies have turned so little of the available supply of gas that they have into stars.

A multi-institution collaboration formed with members from CalTech, U.C. Berkeley, U.C. San Diego, U.C. Irvine, Northwestern, and the University of Toronto. They produced a new set of supercomputer galaxy models called FIRE or Feedback in Realistic Environments. It focused the computing power on small scales of just a few light years across.

Galaxy simulations were tested on the Stampede supercomputer of the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), an Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment-allocated (XSEDE) resource funded by the National Science Foundation.