Evolution of Galaxies
Jim Rose (UNC)
A variety of evidence now suggests that the great majority of the
matter density in the universe is composed of dynamically cold dark matter.
A standard prediction of this scenario is that gravitational amplification
of primordial density fluctuations should result in a hierarchy of merging
structures. Most tests of such a scenario unfortunately rely on the biased
view that one obtains from characterizing the directly observable baryonic
matter, the minority contributor to the mass density. I will present the
results of three observational projects that relate to the evolution of
galaxies, and to the larger scale structures they reside in. The extent
to which these results agree with, and challenge, the hierarchical merger
scenario will also be discussed.
