Galaxy clusters are the largest objects in the universe. A single cluster contains hundreds to thousands of galaxies held together by strong gravity. They also contain other components swirling inside galaxies, such as plasma, hot gas, and dark matter. All this makes us wonder: What could be the true mass of the galaxy cluster? Not to mention that there isn’t enough scale in the universe to “weigh” such a large cluster. Now, scientists have turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to estimate the mass of massive galaxy clusters.
Using AI capabilities
The press release states that the scientists used the observed values to calculate the mass of the cluster. They’ve done this for decades using equations based on how electrons interact with photons, but the results weren’t always accurate as the photons’ properties change. Additionally, the presence of invisible dark matter complicates the calculation of the total mass. Therefore, artificial intelligence can understand what humans cannot understand.
Astrophysicists from the Institute for Advanced Studies and the Flatiron Institute have used artificial intelligence to develop a better equation to calculate the exact mass of these massive cosmic structures.
Interestingly, the AI model known as “symbolic regression” simply changed the existing equation and voila – the measurements became much more accurate. The model was simulated using galaxy clusters and an equation found by AI. Compared to the existing equation, the new equation said, reduces the mass variability of the massive galaxy cluster by about 20 to 30 percent, the paper said. What’s more, the AI tool was also able to identify “additional variables” that could potentially improve the accuracy of the mass measurement.
“We believe symbolic regression is very applicable to answering many astrophysical questions. In many cases in astronomy, people just get a linear fit between the two parameters and ignore everything else. But today, you can go even further with these tools. Symbolic regression and other artificial intelligence tools. “Can help us go beyond the existing two-parameter power laws in a variety of ways, from studying small astrophysical systems such as exoplanets to galaxy clusters, the largest objects in the universe.” Advanced Research at Princeton, which oversaw this work.
Understanding the mass of galaxy clusters is crucial to advancing our knowledge of the origin and evolution of the universe. And this development is undoubtedly a step in the right direction.