Deep Millimeter Surveys Implications For Galaxy Formation And Evolution

The arrival of large submillimeter and millimeter-wave detector arrays opened a new window on galaxy formation and evolution. The major new facilities now being designed or constructed, such as ALMA (MMA) and the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), will soon be expanding the horizons even farther.The Conference on “Deep Millimeter Surveys: Implications for Galaxy Formation and Evolution” drew together the major international groups working on submillimeter and millimeter-wave galaxies to discuss their relation to other galaxies both near by and in the early Universe, the role of the LMT and other new facilities in advancing the new field, and the implications of the new results and models for our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. The resulting compendium of reports on observations, simulations, theory and interpretation, and instrumentation is the first book to present the new millimeter view of the early Universe thoroughly in a single volume.

The possibilities of astronomical observation have dramatically increased over the last decade. Major satellites, like the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra and XMM Newton, are complemented by numerous large ground-based observatories, from 8m-10m optical telescopes to sub-mm and radio facilities. As a result, observational astronomy has access to virtually the whole electromagnetic spectrum of galaxies, even at high redshifts. Theoretical models of galaxy formation and cosmological evolution now face a serious challenge to match the plethora of observational data. In October 2003, over 170 astronomers from 15 countries met for a 4-day workshop to extensively illustrate and discuss all major observational projects and ongoing theoretical efforts to model galaxy formation and evolution. This volume contains the complete proceedings of this meeting and is therefore a unique and timely overview of the current state of research in this rapidly evolving field.

Written by one of the leading authorities in the field, this is one of the first book's to describe one of today's most important problems in cosmology - the formation of galaxies. The book tackles this great puzzle by discusses the beginnings of the process from cosmological observations and calculations, considers the broad features of galaxies that we need to explain and what we know of their later history. The author compares the competing theories for galaxy formation and considers the progress expected from new generations of powerful telescopes both on earth and in space. An intriguing text on one of today's greatest and most profound puzzles.

The recent scientific efforts in Astrophysics & Cosmology have brought a revolution to our understanding of the Cosmos. Amazing results is the outcome of amazing experiments! The huge scientific, technological & financial effort that has gone into building the 10-m class telescopes as well as many space and balloon observatories, essential to observe the multitude of cosmic phenomena in their manifestations at different wavelengths, from gamma-rays to the millimetre and the radio, has given and is still giving its fruits of knowledge. These recent scientific achievements in Observational and Theoretical Cosmology were presented in the "Multiwavelength Cosmology" conference that took place on beautiful Mykonos island in the Aegean between 17 and 20 June 2003. More than 180 Cosmologists from all over the world gathered for a four-day intense meeting in which recent results from large ground based surveys (AAT/2-df, SLOAN) and space missions (WMAP, Chandra, XMM, ISO, HST) were presented and debated, providing a huge impetus to our knowledge of the Cosmos. The future of the subject (experiments, and directions of research) was also discussed. The conference was devoted mostly on the constraints on Cosmological models and galaxy formation theories that arise from the study of the high redshift Universe, from clusters of galaxies, and their evolution, from the cosmic microwave background, the large-scale structure and star-formation history.

Awarded the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Rodger Doxsey Travel Prize, and with a foreword by thesis supervisor Professor Shardha Jogee at the University of Texas at Austin, this thesis discusses one of the primary outstanding problems in extragalactic astronomy: how galaxies form and evolve. Galaxies consist of two fundamental kinds of structure: rotationally supported disks and spheroidal/triaxial structures supported by random stellar motions. Understanding the balance between these galaxy components is vital to comprehending the relative importance of the different mechanisms (galaxy collisions, gas accretion and internal secular processes) that assemble and shape galaxies. Using panchromatic imaging from some of the largest and deepest space-based galaxy surveys, an empirical census of galaxy structure is made for galaxies at different cosmic epochs and in environments spanning low to extremely high galaxy number densities. An important result of this work is that disk structures are far more prevalent in massive galaxies than previously thought. The associated challenges raised for contemporary theoretical models of galaxy formation are discussed. The method of galaxy structural decomposition is treated thoroughly since it is relevant for future studies of galaxy structure using next-generation facilities, like the James Webb Space Telescope and the ground-based Giant Magellan Telescope with adaptive optics.

The rapidly expanding field of galaxy formation lies at the interface between astronomy, particle physics, and cosmology. Covering diverse topics from these disciplines, all of which are needed to understand how galaxies form and evolve, this book is ideal for researchers entering the field. Individual chapters explore the evolution of the Universe as a whole and its particle and radiation content; linear and nonlinear growth of cosmic structure; processes affecting the gaseous and dark matter components of galaxies and their stellar populations; the formation of spiral and elliptical galaxies; central supermassive black holes and the activity associated with them; galaxy interactions; and the intergalactic medium. Emphasizing both observational and theoretical aspects, this book provides a coherent introduction for astronomers, cosmologists, and astroparticle physicists to the broad range of science underlying the formation and evolution of galaxies.

This book contains the expanded lecture notes of the 32nd Saas-Fee Advanced Course. The three contributions present the central themes in modern research on the cold universe, ranging from cold objects at large distances to the physics of dust in cold clouds.