The 1980's have been times of great excitement in Astrophysics and Cosmology. Professors Dennis Sciama and Fabio Mardirossian and all the other Members of the Organizing Committees are to be congratulated for having given us a taste of this excitement in Trieste, by inviting the leaders of the subject to the meeting they have organized. The excitement has corne from the new observations of the three-dimensional structure of the universe through a large number of new measurements of redshifts. These have revealed that clusters of galaxies are distributed on the surface of big empty bubbles of diameters of the order of 20-50 Mpc. Additionally, there is some evidence for invisible dark matter (whose composition is not known) as well as evidence for the gravitational lens effect. To cap this has corne the supernova of 1987, an event which last occurred 383 years ago. For the first time in history, the neutrino flux from the supernova was measured, giving limits to neutrino masses and numbers of neutrino types. (The dark matter problem is related to Particle Physics - beyond this standard model). It is good to be alive when all this happens and to try to comprehend this. Once again, our appreciation to the organisers and to those who presented their beautiful results.

This volume documents the theoretical and observational results and arguments in favour of (or against) the most preferred models of structure formation. New observational results of the large scale distribution of matter are confronted with recent theories on the origin and evolution of structure in the universe.

The classic account of the structure and evolution of the early universe from Nobel Prize–winning physicist P. J. E. Peebles An instant landmark on its publication, The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe remains the essential introduction to this vital area of research. Written by one of the world's most esteemed theoretical cosmologists, it provides an invaluable historical introduction to the subject, and an enduring overview of key methods, statistical measures, and techniques for dealing with cosmic evolution. With characteristic clarity and insight, P. J. E. Peebles focuses on the largest known structures—galaxy clusters—weighing the empirical evidence of the nature of clustering and the theories of how it evolves in an expanding universe. A must-have reference for students and researchers alike, this edition of The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe introduces a new generation of readers to a classic text in modern cosmology.

This volume provides an updated understanding of the progress and current problems in the interplay between fundamental physics, astrophysics and cosmology.In the last years, the cross section between these fields has been increasing, both at the theoretical and experimental levels: particle physics experiments, astronomical observations, space satellite data. Such interplay has fruitfully influenced research activity setting up Astrofundamental physics.Topics covered in this volume are: early universe, large scale structure of the universe, dark matter problem, cosmic microwave background radiation, gravitational wave astronomy and neutrino astrophysics. The inter-relation between these topics is important and a source of problems at the frontiers of present knowledge and experimental limits. Latest available data are constraining theory and models in these topics. The book reviews achievements, confronts theory and models with observations and provides information on the latest developments and discussions on future prospects.It also includes a section on stellar spectroscopy and spectrophotometry which covers Daniel Chalonge's work as well as present progress and future prospects in these fields.

How Vera Rubin convinced the scientific community that dark matter might exist, persevering despite early dismissals of her work. We now know that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles and forces that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. The discovery of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not only are we not the center of the universe, neither is the stuff of which we’re made. Astronomer Vera Rubin (1928–2016) played a pivotal role in this discovery. By showing that some astronomical objects seem to defy gravity’s grip, Rubin helped convince the scientific community of the possibility of dark matter. In Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond, Ashley Jean Yeager tells the story of Rubin’s life and work, recounting her persistence despite early dismissals of her work and widespread sexism in science. Yeager describes Rubin’s childhood fascination with stars, her education at Vassar and Cornell, and her marriage to a fellow scientist. At first, Rubin wasn’t taken seriously; she was a rarity, a woman in science, and her findings seemed almost incredible. Some observatories in midcentury America restricted women from using their large telescopes; Rubin was unable to collect her own data until a decade after she had earned her PhD. Still, she continued her groundbreaking work, driving a scientific revolution. She received the National Medal of Science in 1993, but never the Nobel Prize—perhaps overlooked because of her gender. She’s since been memorialized with a ridge on Mars, an asteroid, a galaxy, and most recently, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory—the first national observatory named after a woman.

This book considers modern and fascinating theories of the large scale models of the universe.

All matter, including galaxy clusters, galaxies, and their constituents follow orbits and flows driven by the net attraction of near and distant masses. The book presents the development of studies of peculiar motions along with discoveries in large-scale structure, the cosmic microwave background, baryonic oscillations, gravity waves, and their relation to current work on gravitation and dark matter.The results of peculiar motion measurements in the late 20th century are described as they were used to search for the dipole of the galaxy motions, a determination of cosmic density, and to compare with the cosmic microwave dipole, which led to the discovery of galactic flows and the Great Attractor. Newer detailed measurements from surveys in the 21st century have helped resolve the nature of these structures. Some prospects for future investigations are discussed.

IAU Transactions are published as a volume corresponding to each General Assembly. Volume A is produced prior to the Assembly and contains Reports on Astronomy, prepared by each Commission President. The intention is to summarize the astronomical results that have affected the work of the Commission since the production of the previous Reports up to a time which is about one year prior to the General Assembly. Volume B is produced after the Assembly and contains accounts of Commission Meetings which were held, together with other material. The reports included in the present volume range from outline summaries to lengthy compilations and references.

A thorough and up-to-date graduate textbook on the most promising theory of the universe - inflationary cosmology.