https://en.people.cn/n3/2026/0423/c90000-20449755.html
https://www.cas.cn/cm/202604/t20260424_5108016.shtml
At a scientific symposium held by the CAS National Astronomical Observatories, an international team led by Chinese scientists released the first batch of research results from “Qianyan” – a supercomputer simulation using approximately 4.2 trillion virtual particles to construct a “digital universe” with sides spanning 12 billion light-years.
The “Qianyan” simulation begins in the early universe after the Big Bang. By calculating the gravitational interactions of matter in the universe, it simulates and reproduces the formation and evolution of large-scale structures in the universe over a period of billions of years. Using a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation, the “Qianyan” simulation can also generate information such as galaxy populations, luminosity, color, spectral energy distribution, and virtual observation images.
By comparing a high-precision virtual universe with actual observations, the “Thousand Derivations” simulation will provide crucial support for researching fundamental cosmological questions such as dark matter and dark energy, deepening our understanding of the laws governing galaxy evolution. Simultaneously, the simulation data will provide vital scientific support for large-scale sky survey projects such as the Chinese Space Station Sky Survey Telescope (CSST) and the European Space Agency’s Euclid Space Telescope (Euclid).
The simulation runs on the “Dongfang” supercomputer at the CAS Computer Network Information Center, using the PhotoNs software independently developed by the National Astronomical Observatories team. This software has been deeply optimized for domestically developed supercomputing platforms.
Recently, the first academic paper on the “Thousand Derivations” simulation was published in the *Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society*. The paper uses the famous massive galaxy cluster Abel 2744, located approximately 4 billion light-years from Earth, as its subject to test the “Thousand Derivatives” simulation’s ability to study extremely rare celestial objects.