Galaxy Formation: Confrontation with Observations

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The implications for galaxy formation of inflationary cosmology are reviewed. In particular, I explore some implications of the hypothesis that galaxies form from adiabatic, gaussian density fluctuations in a cold dark matterdominated universe.Topics discussed include protogalaxies and the epoch of galaxy formation, Lyman alpha clouds, dark halos and dwarf galaxies. Finally I describe how environmental biasing may arise as a consequence of tidally induced star formation in protoclusters.