ExtraliTalks: Creating a Digital Twin of the Universe: A New Frontier in Tracing Cosmic Origins

By creating a digital twin of the universe, we can peek into our cosmic history and gain new knowledge on its evolution. On December 11, Jens Jasche from the Department of Physics, will explain how.

Jens is an expert in astrophysics and cosmology. He says the following about his talk:

“Upcoming galaxy surveys provide an unprecedented opportunity to deepen our understanding of cosmology and fundamental physics through detailed observations of cosmic structures. As the precision and volume of data increase, so does the need for sophisticated, accurate models that can effectively interpret this wealth of information. In this talk, I will present the concept of a Digital Twin of the Universe: A probabilistic computational model that replicates the universe’s state and evolution by integrating high-fidelity simulations with extensive observational data.

This framework leverages physics-informed field-level inference, a powerful alternative to classical cosmological analyses, linking the early and late universe by jointly inferring cosmic initial conditions and generating nonlinear density and velocity fields. Through dynamic, nonlinear models, we achieve a comprehensive characterization of cosmic structure, from its origins to its evolution, with applications in probing dark matter properties, neutrino anisotropies, and more.

I will illustrate how digital twins not only enhance cosmological parameter constraints but also provide new avenues for exploring fundamental physics. As an example, I will demonstrate how we can recover initial conditions for the Local Group, uncovering the formation history of the Milky Way-Andromeda system. Ultimately, digital twins offer a groundbreaking approach to address key questions in cosmology and beyond.”

Read an interview with Jens Jasche

Learn more about Jens Jasche’s research

If you would like to join via Zoom, please contact Ashraful Kadir to get the link.

If you choose to join us in Kista, you are more than welcome to stay for mingle and informal discussions after the seminar in Foo Bar, DSV’s student pub.
Find your way to DSV

Questions? Contact Ashraful Kadir or Luis Velez Quintero

The seminar is included in the ExtraliTalks seminar series by Extrality Lab, initiated and managed by students at the Master’s Programme in Design for Creative and Immersive Technologies at DSV.