Related papers: Constraints on Galaxy Structure and Evolution from…
After a polemical introduction about the proper activity of an astrophysicist facing a dominant theoretical model and many Tb of highly informative data, I review a few recent results on the properties of galaxies in the nearby (redshift…
We develop a simple, fast and predictive model of the hierarchical formation of galaxies which is in quantitative agreement with observations. Comparing simulations with observations we place constraints on the density of the universe and…
Stars and planets are the fundamental objects of the Universe. Their formation processes, though related, may differ in important ways. Stars almost certainly form from gravitational collapse and probably have formed this way since the…
The spatial distributions of luminous and dark matter in massive early-type galaxies reflect the formation processes which shaped these systems. This article reviews the predictions of cosmological simulations for the dark and baryonic…
A standard theoretical paradigm for the formation of large-scale structure in the distribution of galaxies has now been established, based on the gravitational instability of cold dark matter in a background cosmology dominated by vacuum…
The initial conditions of our Universe can be summarized on a single sheet of paper. Yet the Universe is full of complex structures today, such as stars, galaxies and groups of galaxies. In this review I describe the standard theoretical…
A review of the present observational and theoretical status of elliptical galaxies is presented with the aim to clarify whether the monolithic or the hierarchical, is a more viable scenario for the origin of these structures. We describe…
Our Milky Way Galaxy is a typical large spiral galaxy, representative of the most common morphological type in the local Universe. We can determine the properties of individual stars in unusual detail, and use the characteristics of the…
The great advances in the network of cosmological tests show that the relativistic Big Bang theory is a good description of our expanding universe. But the properties of nearby galaxies that can be observed in greatest detail suggest a…
This talk investigates the formation of early-type galaxies from a deliberately observational view point. I begin by reviewing the conclusions that can be reached by comparing the detailed properties of galaxies in present-day clusters,…
We provide a brief summary of the history of galaxy structure studies. We also introduce several large-scale redshift surveys and summarize the most commonly used methods to identify the groups and clusters of galaxies. We present several…
The galaxies of the Local Group that are currently forming stars can serve as our laboratories for understanding star formation and the evolution of massive stars. In this talk I will summarize what I think we've learned about these topics…
The standard theory of cosmic structure formation posits that the present-day rich structure of the Universe developed through gravitational amplification of tiny matter density fluctuations generated in its very early history. Recent…
If we are to develop a comprehensive and predictive theory of galaxy formation and evolution, it is essential that we obtain an accurate assessment of how and when galaxies assemble their stellar populations, and how this assembly varies…
We review current knowledge on the structure, properties and evolution of galactic bulges, considering particularly common preconceptions in the light of recent observational results.
We review how dark matter is distributed in our local neighbourhood from an observational and theoretical perspective. We will start by describing first the dark matter halo of our own galaxy and in the Local Group. Then we proceed to…
During the last decade, the understanding of fine features of the structure and evolution of stars has become possible as a result of enormous progress made in the acquisition of high-quality observational and experimental data and of new…
For the first time, the combination of semi-analytic modelling of galaxy formation and N-body simulations of cosmic structure formation enables us to model, at the same time, both the photometric and the clustering properties of galaxies.…
Over the past three decades the established view of a nearly homogeneuous, featureless Universe on scales larger than a few Megaparsec has been completely overhauled. In particular through the advent of ever larger galaxy redshift surveys…
The star-formation histories of the main stellar components of the Milky Way constrain critical aspects of galaxy formation and evolution. I discuss recent determinations of such histories, together with their interpretation in terms of…