On the Use of WGANs for Super Resolution in Dark-Matter Simulations

Super-resolution techniques have the potential to reduce the computational cost of cosmological and astrophysical simulations. This can be achieved by enabling traditional simulation methods to run at lower resolution and then efficiently computing high-resolution data corresponding to the simulated...

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Main Authors: John Brennan, Sreedhar Balu, Yuxiang Qin, John Regan, Chris Power
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Maynooth Academic Publishing 2025-06-01
Series:The Open Journal of Astrophysics
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.33232/001c.141236
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author John Brennan
Sreedhar Balu
Yuxiang Qin
John Regan
Chris Power
author_facet John Brennan
Sreedhar Balu
Yuxiang Qin
John Regan
Chris Power
author_sort John Brennan
collection DOAJ
description Super-resolution techniques have the potential to reduce the computational cost of cosmological and astrophysical simulations. This can be achieved by enabling traditional simulation methods to run at lower resolution and then efficiently computing high-resolution data corresponding to the simulated low-resolution data. In this work, we investigate the application of a Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network (WGAN) model, previously proposed in the literature, to increase the particle resolution of dark-matter-only simulations. We reproduce prior results, showing the WGAN model successfully generates high-resolution data with summary statistics, including the power spectrum and halo mass function, that closely match those of true high-resolution simulations. However, we also identify a limitation of the WGAN model in the form of smeared features in generated high-resolution data, particularly in the shapes of dark-matter halos and filaments. This limitation points to a potential weakness of the proposed WGAN-based super-resolution method in capturing the detailed structure of halos, and underscores the need for further development in applying such models to cosmological data.
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spelling doaj-art-7d339b9f2bbe4263a16d87da44e6383b2025-08-20T03:47:20ZengMaynooth Academic PublishingThe Open Journal of Astrophysics2565-61202025-06-01810.33232/001c.141236On the Use of WGANs for Super Resolution in Dark-Matter SimulationsJohn BrennanSreedhar BaluYuxiang QinJohn ReganChris PowerSuper-resolution techniques have the potential to reduce the computational cost of cosmological and astrophysical simulations. This can be achieved by enabling traditional simulation methods to run at lower resolution and then efficiently computing high-resolution data corresponding to the simulated low-resolution data. In this work, we investigate the application of a Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network (WGAN) model, previously proposed in the literature, to increase the particle resolution of dark-matter-only simulations. We reproduce prior results, showing the WGAN model successfully generates high-resolution data with summary statistics, including the power spectrum and halo mass function, that closely match those of true high-resolution simulations. However, we also identify a limitation of the WGAN model in the form of smeared features in generated high-resolution data, particularly in the shapes of dark-matter halos and filaments. This limitation points to a potential weakness of the proposed WGAN-based super-resolution method in capturing the detailed structure of halos, and underscores the need for further development in applying such models to cosmological data.https://doi.org/10.33232/001c.141236
spellingShingle John Brennan
Sreedhar Balu
Yuxiang Qin
John Regan
Chris Power
On the Use of WGANs for Super Resolution in Dark-Matter Simulations
The Open Journal of Astrophysics
title On the Use of WGANs for Super Resolution in Dark-Matter Simulations
title_full On the Use of WGANs for Super Resolution in Dark-Matter Simulations
title_fullStr On the Use of WGANs for Super Resolution in Dark-Matter Simulations
title_full_unstemmed On the Use of WGANs for Super Resolution in Dark-Matter Simulations
title_short On the Use of WGANs for Super Resolution in Dark-Matter Simulations
title_sort on the use of wgans for super resolution in dark matter simulations
url https://doi.org/10.33232/001c.141236
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AT yuxiangqin ontheuseofwgansforsuperresolutionindarkmattersimulations
AT johnregan ontheuseofwgansforsuperresolutionindarkmattersimulations
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