N-body simulation

This article is about a topic in physics. For the automobile platform, see GM N platform.

For engineering problems and simulations involving many components, see Multibody system and Multibody simulation.

An N-body simulation of the cosmological formation of a cluster of galaxies in an expanding universe

In physics and astronomy, an N-body simulation is a simulation of a dynamical system of particles, usually under the influence of physical forces, such as gravity (see n-body problem for other applications). N-body simulations are widely used tools in astrophysics, from investigating the dynamics of few-body systems like the Earth-Moon-Sun system to understanding the evolution of the large-scale structure of the universe. In physical cosmology, N-body simulations are used to study processes of non-linear structure formation such as galaxy filaments and galaxy halos from the influence of dark matter. Direct N-body simulations are used to study the dynamical evolution of star clusters.