2009/08/10 by Andreas Burkert, Burkert, Andreas
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph.CO
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0908.1409
7 pages, 1 figure, to appear in "Galaxy Evolution: Emerging Insights and Future Challenges" eds. S. Jogee, L. Hao, G. Blanc & I. Marinova, ASP Conf. Ser
arxiv created 2009/08/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Galactic disk formation requires knowledge about the initial conditions under which disk galaxies form, the boundary conditions that affect their secular evolution and the micro-physical processes that drive the multi-phase interstellar medium and regulate their star formation history. Most of these ingredients are still poorly understood. Recent high-resolution observations of young high-redshift disk galaxies provide insight into early phases of galactic disk formation and evolution. Combined with low-redshift disk data these observations should eventually allow us to reconstruct the origin and evolution of late-type galaxies. I summarize some of the major problems that need to be addressed for a more consistent picture of galactic disk formation and evolution.