Large-scale structure at high redshift

Abstract

I discuss and illustrate the development of large-scale structure in the Universe, emphasising in particular the physical processes and cosmological parameters that most influence the observationally accessible aspects of structure at large redshift. Statistical properties of this structure can be measured from the apparent positions of faint galaxies and quasars; the structure can be mapped in three dimensions by obtaining redshifts for large samples of such objects; it can be studied using foreground absorption in the spectra of quasars; finally the mass distribution can be constrained by measuring the gravitationally induced distortion of background galaxy images. The first and last of these techniques require deep imaging of large areas of the sky with the best possible image quality. The second and third will require 8m-class telescopes with efficient multiobject spectrographs. For QSO absorption line spectroscopy high spectral resolution is also important.