Galaxy Formation

Delineating the huge strides taken in cosmology in the past ten years, this much-anticipated second edition of Malcolm Longair's highly appreciated textbook has been extensively and thoroughly updated. It tells the story of modern astrophysical cosmology from the perspective of one of its most important and fundamental problems – how did the galaxies come about? Longair uses this approach to introduce the whole of what may be called "classical cosmology". What’s more, he describes how the study of the origin of galaxies and larger-scale structures in the Universe has provided us with direct information about the physics of the very early Universe.

A coherent introduction for researchers in astronomy, particle physics, and cosmology on the formation and evolution of galaxies.

Galaxies, along with their underlying dark matter halos, constitute the building blocks of structure in the Universe. Of all fundamental forces, gravity is the dominant one that drives the evolution of structures from small density seeds at early times to the galaxies we see today. The interactions among myriads of stars, or dark matter particles, in a gravitating structure produce a system with fascinating connotations to thermodynamics, with some analogies and some fundamental differences. Ignacio Ferreras presents a concise introduction to extragalactic astrophysics, with emphasis on stellar dynamics, and the growth of density fluctuations in an expanding Universe. Additional chapters are devoted to smaller systems (stellar clusters) and larger ones (galaxy clusters). Fundamentals of Galaxy Dynamics, Formation and Evolution is written for advanced undergraduates and beginning postgraduate students, providing a useful tool to get up to speed in a starting research career. Some of the derivations for the most important results are presented in detail to enable students appreciate the beauty of maths as a tool to understand the workings of galaxies. Each chapter includes a set of problems to help the student advance with the material.

Delineating the huge strides taken in cosmology in the past ten years, this much-anticipated second edition of Malcolm Longair's highly appreciated textbook has been extensively and thoroughly updated. It tells the story of modern astrophysical cosmology from the perspective of one of its most important and fundamental problems – how did the galaxies come about? Longair uses this approach to introduce the whole of what may be called "classical cosmology". What’s more, he describes how the study of the origin of galaxies and larger-scale structures in the Universe has provided us with direct information about the physics of the very early Universe.

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.

A comprehensive examination of nearly fourteen billion years of galaxy formation and evolution, from primordial gas to present-day galaxies.

An Astronomical Life – Observing the Depths of the Universe” Though science as a subject can be di?cult, what has been more important for me is that its practice can also be rewarding fun! This book is crafted to expose the reader to the excitement of modern observational cosmology through the study of galaxy evolution over space and cosmic time. Recent extragalactic research has led to many rapid advances in the ?eld. Even a suitable skeptic of certain pronouncements about the age and structure of the Universe should be pleased with the large steps that have been taken in furthering our understanding of the Universe since the early 1990’s. My personal involvement in galaxy research goes back to the 1960’s. At that point, galaxies were easily recognized and partially understood as organized c- lections of stars and gas. What their masses were presented a problem, which I supposed would just fade away. But fade it didn’t. Distant active nuclei and quasars were discovered in the mid-1960’s. A c- mon view of QSOs was that they have large redshifts, but what use are they for cosmology or normal galaxy astrophysics? I shared that conclusion. My expec- tions fell below their potential utility. In short, the Universe of our expectations rarely matches the Universe as it is discovered.

A comprehensive examination of nearly fourteen billion years of galaxy formation and evolution, from primordial gas to present-day galaxies.