Galaxy Collider Overview

A large-scale N-body simulation using parallel computation in C that models the gravitational interactions between 10,000 stars per galaxy, with a specific focus on reproducing the unique structure of the Cartwheel Galaxy through precise collision parameters.

The Galaxy Collider project implements a sophisticated parallel N-body simulation to demonstrate how the distinctive ring structure of the Cartwheel Galaxy forms when two galaxies with aligned rotation axes collide. The simulation tracks the gravitational interactions between more than 20,000 stars, utilizing parallel computation to handle the complex calculations efficiently.

Technical Implementation

Core Components

• Physics Engine: Parallel C N-body simulation core
• Visualization: 3D rendering of galaxy evolution
• Data Processing: Efficient parallel gravitational calculations
• Analysis Tools: Statistical analysis of stellar distributions

Simulation Features

• Accurate gravitational force calculations
• Parallel computation optimization
• Rotation axis alignment parameters
• Time-evolution tracking
• 3D visualization capabilities

Key Challenges

• Parallelizing gravitational calculations for 20,000+ interacting bodies
• Implementing efficient memory management for large datasets
• Optimizing computation time while maintaining accuracy
• Creating meaningful visualizations of complex 3D data