Large Scale Structure of the Universe

How is the universe organized on large scales? How did this structure evolve from the unknown initial conditions of a rather smooth early universe to the present time? The answers to these questions will shed light on the cosmology we live in, the amount, composition and distribution of matter in the universe, the initial spectrum of density fluctuations that gave rise to this structure, and the formation and evolution of galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and larger scale structures. To address these fundamental questions, large and accurate sky surveys are needed—in various wavelengths and to various depths. In this presentation I review current observational studies of large scale structure, present the constraints these observations place on cosmological models and on the amount of dark matter in the universe, and highlight some of the main unsolved problems in the field of large-scale structure that could be solved over the next decade with the aid of current and future surveys. I briefly discuss some of these surveys, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey that will provide a complete imaging and spectroscopic survey of the high-latitude northern sky, with redshifts for the brightest ∼ 10 galaxies, 10 quasars, and 10 rich clusters of galaxies. The potentialities of the SDSS survey, as well as of cross-wavelength surveys, for resolving some of the unsolved problems in large-scale structure and cosmology are discussed.