Evolution of Neutral Gas in Galaxies

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This project, to be carried out by one of the leading U.S. experts in neutral hydrogen studies, seeks to answer some of the many unanswered questions about the formation and evolution of galaxies from primordial clouds of gas into the complex systems of stars and gas we now see. This investigation will compare the structure and dynamics of nearby galaxies with corresponding high redshift objects of much younger age. By studying the processes which continue to modify the structure of galaxies, and surveying the distribution of neutral hydrogen in a sufficiently large volume of space, strict constraints will be placed on the efficiency of conversion or primordial gas into gravitationally bound galactic systems.