At close inspection every galaxy appears to have its own individuality.A galaxy can be warped, lop-sided, doubly-nucleated, boxy or disky, ... in its own specific, peculiar way. Hence, for a complete description, galaxy taxonomy may ask for finer and finer classification schemes. However, for some applications it may be more fruitful to let details aside and focus on some global properties of galaxies. One is then seeking to measure just a few quantities for each galaxy, a minimum set of globalobservables that yet captures some essential aspect of these objects. One very successful example of this approach is offered by the scaling rela tions of galaxies, the subject of the international workshop held at ESO head quarters in Garching on November 19-21, 1996. Discovered in the late 1970's, the Tully-Fisher relation for the spirals and the Faber-Jackson relation, or its more recent version the Fundamental Plane, for ellipticals have now become flourishing fields of astronomical research in their own right, as well as being widely used tools for a broad range of astronomical investigations. The work shop was designed to address three key issues on galaxy scaling relations, i.e., their Origins, Evolution, and Applications in astronomy. The Origins of galaxy scaling relations still escape our full understanding.

The possibilities of astronomical observation have dramatically increased over the last decade. Major satellites, like the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra and XMM Newton, are complemented by numerous large ground-based observatories, from 8m-10m optical telescopes to sub-mm and radio facilities. As a result, observational astronomy has access to virtually the whole electromagnetic spectrum of galaxies, even at high redshifts. Theoretical models of galaxy formation and cosmological evolution now face a serious challenge to match the plethora of observational data. In October 2003, over 170 astronomers from 15 countries met for a 4-day workshop to extensively illustrate and discuss all major observational projects and ongoing theoretical efforts to model galaxy formation and evolution. This volume contains the complete proceedings of this meeting and is therefore a unique and timely overview of the current state of research in this rapidly evolving field.

The present volume, the fourth one in the "Space Sciences Series of ISSI" (Inter national Space Science Institute), contains the proceedings of a workshop on "Pri mordial Nuclei and Their Galactic Evolution", which was held at ISSI in Bern on 6-10 May 1997. This topic was chosen following some general enquiries with the scientific community concerning its desirability and timeliness. Five convenors, D. Duncan, C. Hogan, J. Linsky, N. Prantzos, and H. Reeves (chair) subsequently set up the workshop, nominated a list of invitees, structured the workshop into a series of introductory talks and into six topical working groups (early Universe extragalactic objects -low-Z stars - galactic disk and galactic evolution - solar nebula -local interstellar medium), and described the tasks of the working groups in a list of keywords. It is the main task of ISSI to bring together space scientists, ground-based observers, and theorists from different fields and to give them the opportunity to discuss and compare their results, thus contributing to the achievement of a deeper understanding, adding value to those results through multi-disciplinary research in an atmosphere of international co-operation. In that spirit the convenors selected participants working in fields ranging from Big Bang theory to observers oftoday's Solar System, thus spanning the widest possible range both in time and space.

This Special Issue covers a wide range of topics from fundamental studies to applications of ionized gases. It is dedicated to four topics of interest: 1. ATOMIC COLLISION PROCESSES (electron and photon interactions with atomic particles, heavy particle collisions, swarms, and transport phenomena); 2. PARTICLE AND LASER BEAM INTERACTION WITH SOLIDS (atomic collisions in solids, sputtering and deposition, and laser and plasma interactions with surfaces); 3. LOW TEMPERATURE PLASMAS (plasma spectroscopy and other diagnostic methods, gas discharges, and plasma applications and devices); 4. GENERAL PLASMAS (fusion plasmas, astrophysical plasmas, and collective phenomena). This Special Issue of Atoms will highlight the need for continued research on ionized gas physics in different topics ranging from fundamental studies to applications, and will review current investigations.

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.

Many important observational clues about our understanding of how stars and planets form in the interior of molecular clouds have been amassed using recent technological developments. ESO's Very Large Telescope promises to be a major step forward in the investigation of stellar nurseries and infant stars. This volume collects papers from the leaders in this very timely field of astrophysical research. It presents theoretical and a host of observational results and many papers show the plans for future observations.

This book was originally published in 2004. Black holes are among the most mysterious objects in the Universe. Weighing up to several billion Suns, massive black holes have long been suspected to be the central powerhouses of energetic phenomena such as quasars. Advances in astronomy have not only provided spectacular proof of this long-standing paradigm, but have revealed the unexpected result that far from being rare, exotic beasts, they inhabit the center of virtually all large galaxies. Candidate black holes have been identified in increasingly large numbers of galaxies, both inactive and active, to the point where statistical studies are possible. Fresh work has highlighted the close connection between the formation, growth, and evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. This volume contains the invited lectures from an international symposium that was held to explore this exciting theme, and is a valuable review for professional astronomers and graduate students.

These proceedings offer professional astronomers an overview of the rapidly advancing subject of galaxy interactions at low and high redshifts. The symposium gave participants an exciting glimpse of a developing synthesis highlighting galactic encounters and their role in the history of the Universe.

Bulges lie at the center of spiral galaxies. Until recently, they were thought to host uniquely old stellar populations and thus provide a key for understanding galaxy formation. Recent observations from the ground and space have drastically changed our view on the nature of bulges and shown that they can also contain dust, gas, and star-forming regions. This timely volume presents review articles by a panel of international experts who gathered at a conference at the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, to address several fundamental questions: What is a bulge? When and how did bulges form? And, on what timescales? This volume provides a state-of-the-art picture of our new understanding of these fundamental building-blocks of galaxies, and a stimulating reference point for all those interested in galaxy formation.

Measuring the masses of galaxies as a function of redshift is perhaps one of the most challenging open issues in current astronomical research. The evolution of the baryonic and dark matter components of galaxies is not only a critical test of the hierarchical formation paradigm, but ultimately also provides new clues on the complex interplay between star formation, the cooling and heating of gas and galaxy merging processes. This book reviews current techniques to measure the baryonic (stellar) and dark masses of nearby galaxies, and focusses on ongoing attempts to measure theses same quantities in galaxies at higher and higher redshifts. It also gives room to future perspectives, with special emphasis on new survey projects and satellite missions.