These proceedings provide a summary of the state-of-the-art in the understanding of physical processes which control galaxy formation. Many topics are discussed which present the latest observational results: dust extinction, the role of AGNs in the formation of massive galaxies, etc. How future instruments such as NGST, ALMA, FIRST, KMT and SKAI can help to resolve these questions is also addressed. The book will serve as a useful reference in the field for many years to come.

This is the start of a long process to ultimately operate new advanced capabilities at Paranal that can keep up with the evergrowing need for larger and more complex astrophysical data sets. A modern instrument represents a very significant investment in cash, human resources and time. Such a meeting gives us a precious yardstick to evaluate the competitiveness of 1st-generation instruments and associated current and forthcoming proposals for 1st-generation upgrades. This is also crucial to orient the large research and development effort that will provide the very foundation on which 2nd-generation VLT instrumentation can be built. Finally, it represents a significant step towards defining the hopes and goals for the future Extremely Large Telescope to come. The first outcome of this meeting, already in progress, is outlined in the epilogue.

"These proceedings provide a summary of the state-of-the-art in the understanding of physical processes which control galaxy formation. Many topics are discussed which present the latest observational results: dust extinction, the role of AGNs in the formation of massive galaxies, etc. How future instruments such as NGST, ALMA, FIRST, KMT and SKAI can help to resolve these questions is also addressed. The book will serve as a useful reference in the field for many years to come."--Publisher's website

"These proceedings provide a summary of the state-of-the-art in the understanding of physical processes which control galaxy formation. Many topics are discussed which present the latest observational results: dust extinction, the role of AGNs in the formation of massive galaxies, etc. How future instruments such as NGST, ALMA, FIRST, KMT and SKAI can help to resolve these questions is also addressed. The book will serve as a useful reference in the field for many years to come."--Publisher's website

1. Standard Model of Primordial Nucleosynthesis and Observations of Light Elements.- Standard Model of Primordial Nucleosynthesis: A Few General Remarks.- The Abundances of D, He and Li Test and Constrain the Standard Model of Cosmology.- Lithium, Beryllium and Boron: Observational Constraints on Primordial Nucleosynthesis.- The Evolution of the Galactic Lithium Abundance.- Chemical Evolution of Galaxies.- The Effect of Some Nonequilibrium Processes on the Primordial Nucleosynthesis.- Analysis of the Reaction 7Li(d, n)8Be at Subcoulomb Energies.- Experimental Study of the Key Reaction to the Nucleosynthesis in the Inhomogeneous Big Bang Models.- Primordial Black Holes and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis.- Constraints from Primordial Nucleosynthesis on Neutrino Degeneracy.- 2. QCD Phase Transition and Nucleosynthesis in Inhomogeneous Universes.- Strange Quark Matter in Physics and Astrophysics.- Primordial Nucleosynthesis in Inhomogeneous Universe.- Sterile Neutrinos in the Early Universe.- Could Cosmic QCD Phase Transition Produce Strange Quark Matter Which Survives until the Present Time?.- Multi-Zone Calculation of Nucleosynthesis in Inhomogeneous Universe and Be-9 Abundance.- Signatures of Inhomogeneity in the Early Universe.- Diffusion Coefficients of Nucleons in the Inhomogeneous Big Bang Model.- Reactions on Carbon-14.- Survival of Strange Matter Lumps Formed in the Early Universe.- Measurement of the Cross Section of the 12C(n, g)13C Reaction at Stellar Energy.- Inhomogeneous Universes in the Framework of Lattice QCD.- 3. Inflation and very Early Universe.- The Beginning of the Universe.- Extended Inflationary Cosmology: A Primer.- The Inflation Sector of Extended Inflation.- Inflation in Generalized Einstein Theories.- Baryogenesis in the Universe.- Formation of Topological Defects in the Inflationary Universe.- Non-Zel'dovich Fluctuations from Inflation.- Magnetic Theory of Gravitation.- Chaotic Inflation and the Omega Problem.- Late-Time Cosmological Phase Transitions.- False-Vacuum Decay in Generalized Extended Inflation.- Reconciling a Small Density Parameter to Inflation.- Soft Inflation: A Model for Easing Constraints.- Stochastic Inflation Lattice Simulations: Ultra-Large Scale Structure of the Universe.- Purely Quantum Derivation of Density Fluctuations in the Inflationary Universe.- Constraints on the Coupling of Weakly-Interacting Particles to Matter from Stellar Evolution.- Formation and Evolution of Domain-Wall-Networks.- Catastrophe of Spacetime in the Early Universe.- (2+1)-Dimensional Quantum Gravity.- A Stringy Universe Scenario.- The Constant-Mean-Curvature Slicing of the Schwarzschild-de Sitter Space-Time.- Schwarzschild-de Sitter Type Wormhole and Cosmological Constant.- 4. Background Radiation.- COBE: New Sky Maps of the Early Universe.- Large Scale Cosmic Instability.- Gas-Induced Primary and Secondary CMB Anisotropies.- Cosmic X-Ray Background.- Large Scale Anisotropy of the CMB in an Open Universe and Constraints on the Models of Galaxy Formation.- 5. Dark Matter.- The Best-Fit Universe.- LEP Physics and the Early Universe.- A Search for Dark Matters in the Kamiokande II.- Baryonic Dark Matter.- Phenomenological Dark Matter Detection Rate-form WIMP to SIMP-.- 6. Galaxies and AGN.- X-Ray Iron Line of Cluster of Galaxies.- Dynamical Evolution of Compact Groups of Galaxies.- Correlations of Spin Angular Momenta of Galaxies.- Formation of Bipolar Radio Jets and Lobes from Accreton Disk around Forming Blackhole at the Center of Protogalaxies.- An Evolutionary Unified Scheme for Radio-Loud Quasars and Blazars.- Magnetohydrodynamical Energy Extraction from a Kerr Black Hole.- Spherical Symmetric Model for Calculating Large Peculiar Velocities of Galaxies.- On the Origin of Cosmological Magnetic Fields.- 7. Large Scale Structure.- The Hawaii Deep Survey-Implications for Cosmology and Galaxy Formation.- Analysis of the Large Scale Structure with Deep Pencil Beam Surveys.- Distance to the Coma Cluster and the Va.

List of Participants ••. ••. •. . . . •. . ••. . . ••. ••. •. •. . . ••. •. •. . . ••. • xi I. MOSS / The Quantum Origin of the Universe ••••. •. •. •••. •••. ••• M. S. TUru~ER / Cosmology and Particle Physics •. . •••. ••. •. . •••. •• 19 G. GELMINI / Supersynunetry and the Early Universe •••. •. ••. . •. •. . 115 J. D. BARROW / Relativistic Cosmology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 P. J. E. PEEBLES / Yet Another Scenario for Galaxy Formation . ••. 203 ?:1. B. '-lISE / Non-Gaussian Fluctuations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 S. D. H. mUTE / N-body Hethods and the Formation of Large-Scale Structure • . •. . . . • . • • . • • • . . . • . . . . • • . . . • . • . . 239 • . . . • • . . . . • T. PI~~ / Numerical Relativity and Cosmology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 J. R. BOND / Distortions and Anisotropies of the Cosmic Background Radiation •. •. . . ••. ••. •••. ••••. . ••. . •••••. •• 283 J. V. HALL / The Early Universe - An Observer's View. . . . . . . . . . . . 335 G. GELHINI / Can the Solar Neutrino Problem be the First Detected Signature of Dark Hatter from the Halo of Our Galaxy? 351 A. K. DRUKIER / Detecting Cold Dark !1atter Candidates •. •. •. . . •. . 361 S. TOULMIN / The Early Universe: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives . •. •. . . . . . . •. . . . •••. •. •. •. •. . . . ••••. . •. •. • 393 INDEX . . •. . . •. . . ••. . . ••••. . . •••••. . . •. •. •. . •. . . . •. . •. •. . . ••. •••.

Covers all the basic concepts in cosmology, drawing on insights from an astronomer who has pioneered much of this research over the past two decades. Abraham Loeb starts from first principles, tracing the theoretical foundations of cosmology and carefully explaining the physics behind them.