Lectures given at the IV Mexican School of Astrophysics, July 18-25, 2005
astro-ph/0605212

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The old dream of integrating into one the study of micro and macrocosmos is now a reality. Cosmology, astrophysics, and particle physics intersect in a scenario (but still not a theory) of cosmic structure formation and evolution called Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model. This scenario emerged mainly to explain the origin of galaxies. In these lecture notes, I first present a review of the main galaxy properties, highlighting the questions that any theory of galaxy formation should explain. Then, the cosmological framework and the main aspects of primordial perturbation generation and evolution are pedagogically detached. Next, I focus on the "dark side" of galaxy formation, presenting a review on CDM halo assembling and properties, and on the main candidates for non-baryonic dark matter. It is shown how the nature of elemental particles can influence on the features of galaxies and their systems. Finally, the complex processes of baryon dissipation inside the non-linearly evolving CDM halos, formation of disks and spheroids, and transformation of gas into stars are briefly described, remarking on the possibility of a few driving factors and parameters able to explain the main body of galaxy properties. A summary and a discussion of some of the issues and open problems of the CDM paradigm are given in the final part of these notes.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

GALAXY PROPERTIES AND CORRELATIONS

Taxonomy

Anatomy

Ecology

Genetics

COSMIC STRUCTURE FORMATION

Origin of fluctuations

Gravitational evolution of fluctuations

THE DARK SIDE OF GALAXY FORMATION AND EVOLUTION

Nonlinear clustering evolution

Non-baryonic dark matter candidates

THE BRIGHT SIDE OF GALAXY FORMATION AND EVOLUTION

Disks

Spheroids

Drivers of the Hubble sequence

ISSUES AND OUTLOOK

REFERENCES