Galaxy Formation and Large Scale Structure

Abstract

Galaxies represent the visible fabric of the Universe and there has been considerable progress recently in both observational and theoretical studies. The underlying goal is to understand the present-day diversity of galaxy forms, masses and luminosities in the context of theories for the growth of structure. Popular models predict the bulk of the galaxy population assembled recently, in apparent agreement with optical and near-infrared observations. However, detailed conclusions rely crucially on the choice of the cosmological parameters. Although the star formation history has been sketched to early times, uncertainties remain, particularly in connecting to the underlying mass assembly rate. I discuss the expected progress in determining the cosmological parameters and address the question of which observations would most accurately check contemporary models for the origin of the Hubble sequence. The new generation of ground-based and future space-based large telescopes, equipped with instrumentation appropriate for studying the resolved properties of distant galaxies, offer the potential of substantial progress in this field.