The Formation of the Milky Way

Is the current state of our galaxy primarily the result of its initial conditions or is it the product of a lifetime of complex interactions with its environment? This volume presents papers dedicated to exploring this fundamental question and examines all the key physical processes involved in the formation and evolution of the Milky Way. A dozen invited review articles by international experts summarize our understanding to date while more than fifty topical research papers present the latest results. Together, these papers provide a state-of-the-art view of topical issues such as disk instabilities, large-scale star formation, large-scale structure formation in our galaxy, chemical evolution, disk-halo feedback, the galactic globular cluster system, stellar populations, and the formation of galaxies. Also included are three panel sessions identifying key routes for critical future research. For graduate students and researchers, this volume provides a valuable and timely review of our new vision of the formation and evolution of our galaxy.