The HI Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS) offers a unique perspective on the galaxy population in the local universe. A catalogue of 4315 HI-selected galaxies has been extracted from the southern region of the survey (δ < +2°). This catalogue gives a clear view of the local large-scale structure and is used to study the two-point correlation function, the Tully-Fisher relation, and galaxy luminosity and mass functions. Some initial results are discussed here.

A first analysis of a deep blind HI survey covering the southern Zone of Avoidance plus an extension towards the north (196† ≤ ℓ ≤ 52†) obtained with the Multibeam receiver at the 64-m Parkes telescope reveals slightly over a thousand galaxies within the latitude completeness limit of |b| ≤ 5†. The characteristics and the uncovered large-scale structures of this survey are described, in particular the prominence of the Norma Supercluster, the possible cluster around PKS 1343–601 (both in the Great Attractor region), as well as the Local Void and the clustering in the Puppis region. In this blind HI survey HIZOA J0836–43 was discovered, one of the most massive spiral galaxies known to date (MHI = 7.3 × 1010 M⊙, MT = 1.1 × 1012 M⊙; H0 = 75 km/s/Mpc). Although of similar mass to Malin 1-like objects, this galaxy does not share their typical low-surface brightness properties, but seems an exceptionally massive but normal, high surface brightness, star-forming galaxy.

The Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey (SUMSS) is a radio continuum imaging survey of the southern sky at 843 MHz, with similar sensitivity and resolution to the northern NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). We have combined radio data from SUMSS and NVSS with optical spectra from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and 6dF Galaxy Survey to study the space distribution and properties of both AGN and star-forming galaxies in the local universe (redshift range 0 < z < 0.3). We also discuss new results on radio-source clustering in the more distant universe (z ∼ 1) and present the first results from a search for the most distant (z > 3) southern radio galaxies.

We report on early data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), a NASA Explorer Mission launched on April 28, with a nominal mission start of June 19. GALEX is performing the first space UV sky-survey, including imaging and grism surveys in two bands (1350–1750 Å and 1750–2800 Å). The surveys include an all-sky imaging survey (limit AB∼20–21), a medium imaging survey of 1000 sq. deg (limit AB∼23.5), a deep imaging survey of 100 deg2 (limit AB∼25.5), and a nearby galaxy survey. Spectroscopic grism surveys (R=100–300) will be performed with various depths and sky coverage. Many targets overlap existing or planned surveys, including SDSS, DEEP, NOAODWS, VIRMOS, SWIRE, SINGS, SIRTF-GTO, Chandra, and HST/ACS. We will use the measured UV properties of local galaxies, along with corollary observations, to calibrate the UV-global star formation rate relationship in galaxies. We will apply this calibration to distant galaxies discovered in the deep imaging and spectroscopic surveys to map the history of star formation in the universe over the redshift range 0<z<2. The GALEX mission will include a Guest Investigator program for primary observations and supporting data analysis. This will support a wide variety of investigations made possible by the first UV sky survey.

The First Byurakan Survey (FBS) is the largest spectral survey in the Northern sky. One can select objects by color, broad absorption and emission lines, and SED; classify and investigate them. The digitization of the FBS is aimed at making a DFBS database available for the astronomical community. Besides scanning, we are creating plate solutions, extraction software, wavelength and flux calibration, templates for different types of objects, numerical classification, a catalog of objects, a database of spectra, a user interface and a DFBS web page. New research projects based on the DFBS are possible, including a search for new QSOs and other AGN, a continuation of the second part of FBS, and identifications of radio, IR and X-ray sources. The DFBS database will be available at the end of 2004.

A satisfactory understanding of the origin of the dependence of galaxy properties on their environment has remained, so far, out of reach. In the light of numerous observational results and substantial theoretical progress obtained for clusters of galaxies in the last few years, a primary goal is to understand how the star formation activity depends on cluster substructure, i.e. on the merging/accretion history of a cluster. In this contribution we present a case in which it is possible to identify the cluster environment, and in particular the intracluster medium and the recent infall history of galaxies onto the cluster, as the cause for an abrupt change in the star formation histories of a subset of galaxies in the Coma cluster.

I present an epochal review of baryons in the intergalactic medium (IGM), from the reionization epoch until today. Recent observations indicate a protracted period of reionization, suggesting multiple populations of reionizers; detection of these z ≳ 6 sources is a key goal that is now coming within reach. The optical Lyman alpha forest (2 ≲ z ≲ 4) is well-described by the Fluctuating Gunn-Peterson Approximation, but recent observations of galaxies and metal lines associated with Lyα absorbers remain puzzling. IGM studies at z ≲ 1.5 are progressing rapidly thanks to ultraviolet absorption line studies of both Lyα absorbers and the warm-hot intergalactic medium. Cosmological hydrodynamic simulations have played an integral part in these advances, and have helped to revolutionize our understanding of the IGM at various epochs. Working together, observations and theory continue to expand our knowledge of the IGM as the earliest stage of galaxy formation and the dominant reservoir of baryons at all redshifts.

We study the distribution of star formation rate (SFR) and metallicity of damped Lyman-α absorbers (DLAs) using cosmological smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of the Λ cold dark matter (CDM) model. Our simulations include a phenomenological model for feedback by galactic winds which allows us to examine the effect of galactic outflows on the distribution of SFR and metallicity of DLAs. For models with strong galactic winds, we obtain good agreement with recent observations with respect to total neutral hydrogen mass density, NHI column-density distribution, abundance of DLAs, and for the distribution of SFR in DLAs. However, we also find that the median metallicity of simulated DLAs is higher than the values typically observed by nearly an order of magnitude. This discrepancy with observations could be due to shortcomings in the treatment of the supernova feedback or the multiphase structure of the gas in our current simulations. Recent observations by Wolfe et al. (2003a,b) seem to point to the same problem; i.e. the observed DLA metallicities are much lower than those expected from the (either observed or simulated) DLA star formation rates, a puzzle that has been known as the “missing metals”-problem for the globally averaged quantities.

There is increasing observational evidence that hot, highly-ionized interstellar and intergalactic gas plays a significant role in the evolution of galaxies in the local universe. Recent observations from several ultraviolet and X-ray observatories have been used to study the highly ionized high velocity cloud system in the vicinity of the Galaxy, the hot gaseous corona of the Galaxy, and highly ionized absorption-line systems at low redshift. The primary spectral diagnostics of this warm-hot interstellar/intergalactic medium are ultraviolet and X-ray absorption lines of O vi and O vii. The observational data fit well into the framework of current theories for the evolution of large-scale structure in the universe, which predict that a significant fraction of the baryonic material at low redshift is contained in highly ionized intergalactic gas. In this paper, I summarize some of the recent highlights of spectroscopic observations of the hot baryons in the local universe.

We will present simulations of the IGM reionization process and discuss its observability through the 21 cm line. We find that the primordial stellar sources considered in this study give a value of the reionization epoch and of the electron optical depth consistent with the observations by WMAP, without invoking the presence of additional sources of ionization. Depending on the redshift of reionization, broad-beam observations at frequencies < 100–150 MHz with the next generation of radio telescopes should reveal angular fluctuations in the sky brightness temperature in the range 5 —20 mK on scales < 5 arcmin.

In this contribution, I review the current observational evidence for the existence of filaments of Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM). In particular, I first focus on the controversial issue of the identification of the z ∼ 0 highly ionized far-ultraviolet (i.e. OVI) and X-ray (i.e. OVII, OVIII and NeIX) absorbers with either a very tenuous and diffuse WHIM filament, or with much denser condensations of material at large distances in the Galactic halo. I then present our recent detection (confidence level > 3σ) of the OVII WHIM at z > 0 and derive an estimate of the total number of baryons contained in this hard-to-detect phase of the IGM.

Mapping the history of star formation requires combining observations at many wavelengths. The most dramatic episodes of star formation occurred in high-redshift (z > 1) galaxies obscured by dust. These galaxies can be seen at submillimeter wavelengths. While these episodes clearly constitute much of the star formation in the universe, we still do not know the redshift distribution. Although progess has been made in determining the nature of the brightest members of the submillimeter population, these galaxies comprise only a tiny fraction of the submillimeter extragalactic background light. Optical star formation, by contrast, is well mapped but hard to interpret because of the problems of extinction. At recent times there is still substantial star formation, but it primarily takes place in small galaxies. This cosmic downsizing is paralleled by similar evolution in the properties of AGNs.

We discuss recent advances in the study of dusty, massive galaxies at z > 1 arising from the first extensive spectroscopic surveys.

The launch of SIRTF on August 25, 2003 opens an exciting new era for the infrared. Building on the legacy of IRAS, COBE & ISO, SIRTF will image the sky from 3.6–160 μm in tiered surveys, from wide (∼80 sq. deg.) reaching z∼1 in depth for L*FIR galaxies, to small, deep, confusion-limited surveys. SIRTF will measure the accumulation of stellar mass at high redshift, and the evolution of dusty systems (disks, starbursts & AGN) since z∼4, on size scales up to several hundred Mpc. The next decade will also see two major all-sky IR surveys, ASTRO-F and WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), and the launch of Herschel and Planck.

The next survey mission, ASTRO-F, is scheduled for launch in 2005. This is the first Japanese satellite dedicated to infrared astronomy. The primary purpose of this project is to investigate the birth and evolution of galaxies in the early universe through deep, wide-field surveys at wavelengths ranging from 2 to 200 microns. In the far-infrared wavelength band, ASTRO-F will conduct an all-sky survey like the IRAS survey with several tens of times higher sensitivity and several times better spatial resolution. In the near- and mid-infrared, wide area sky-surveys will be conducted over pre-selected portions of the sky in 13 bands ranging from 2-200microns. In addition to these photometric surveys, low-resolution spectroscopic capabilities are available for all wavelength bands. The ASTRO-F mission will produce a fundamental database for the next generation of advanced observatories, for example Herschel, and JWST, and will complement the SIRTF mission by virtue of its wide sky coverage.

DEEP2 is a major new Keck spectroscopic survey of 50,000 galaxies that aims to provide a detailed map of the cosmos at redshift z ∼ 1. We present an overview of DEEP2 and its relation to DEEP and its predecessor (DEEP1) in terms of science goals, of the instrument DEIMOS that enables completion of this survey in only a few years, and of the current status of the project. First science projects that use the first 10% of the survey data and their early results are highlighted.

Far-infrared (FIR), ultraviolet (UV), and soft X-ray observations are easily degraded by dust and gas between the source and the telescope. They must be made from space, where they are still affected by the interstellar medium (ISM) of our Galaxy. Fortunately the ISM is quite patchy, with several “cosmic windows” covering ∼ 100 deg2 of sky having exceptionally low interstellar extinction and cirrus emission. Since the universe is nearly isotropic, these windows contain representative samples of cosmologically distant sources and will be the targets of deep multiwavelength studies including SWIRE, GALEX/DIS, and XMM-LSS. Overlapping optical and radio surveys provide essential source identifications, redshifts, morphologies, and continuum spectra. The prototype VLA survey (see http://www.cv.nrao.edu/sirtf_fls/) covers the 5 deg2 SIRTF First-Look Survey (FLS) and is being used to identify the expected FIR sources in advance. Most will be star-forming galaxies obeying the very tight far-infrared/radio correlation and thus continuum radio sources stronger than S ≈ 100 μJy at 1.4 GHz. Proposed VLA surveys covering the remaining “cosmic windows” will be useful for studying the evolution of obscured AGNs, clusters, and other uncommon objects.

We outline the main arguments in favor of cosmological X-ray surveys of galaxy clusters. We summarize recent advances in our understanding of cluster physics. After a short review of past surveys, we present the scientific motivations of the XMM Large Scale Structure survey. We further illustrate how such a survey can help constrain the nature of the dark energy as well as cluster scaling law evolution, i.e. non-gravitational physics.

The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey (VVDS) is underway to study the evolution of galaxies, large scale structures and AGNs, from the measurement of more than 100 000 spectra of faint objects. We present here the results from the first epoch observations of more than 20000 spectra. The main challenge of the program, the redshift measurements, is described, in particular entering the “redshift desert” in the range 1.5 < z < 3 for which only very weak features are detected in the observed wavelength range. The redshift distribution of a magnitude limited sample brighter than IAB = 24 is presented for the first time, showing a peak at a low redshift z ∼ 0.7, and a tail extending all the way above z = 4. The evolution of the luminosity function out to z = 1.5 is presented, with the LF of blue star forming galaxies carrying most of the evolution, with L* changing by more than two magnitudes for this sub-sample.

The aim of the Gemini Deep Deep Survey is to push spectroscopic studies of complete galaxy samples (both red and blue objects) significantly beyond z = 1; this is the redshift where the current Hubble sequence of ellipticals and spirals is already extant. In the Universe at z = 2 the only currently spectroscopically confirmed galaxies are blue, star-forming and of fragmented morphology. Exploring this transition means filling the ‘redshift desert’ 1 < z < 2 where there is a dearth of spectroscopic measurements. To do this we need to secure redshifts of the oldest, reddest galaxies (candidate ellipticals) beyond z > 1 which has led us to carry out the longest exposure redshift survey ever done: 100 ksec spectroscopic MOS exposures with GMOS on Gemini North. We have developed an implementation of the CCD “nod & shuffle” technique to ensure precise sky-subtraction in these ultra-deep exposures. At the halfway mark the GDDS now has ∼ 36 galaxies in the redshift desert 1.2 < z < 2 extending up to z = 1.97 and I < 24.5 with secure redshifts based on weak rest-frame UV absorption features complete for both red, old objects and young, blue objects. The peak epoch of galaxy assembly is now being probed by direct spectroscopic investigation for the first time. on behalf of the GDDS team I present our first results on the properties of galaxies in the ‘redshift desert’.