The FIR/submm window on galaxy formation

Abstract

Our view on the deep universe has been so far biased towards optically bright galaxies. Now, the measurement of the Cosmic Infrared Background in FIRAS and DIRBE residuals, and the observations of FIR/submm sources by the ISOPHOT and SCUBA instruments begin unveiling the ``optically dark side'' of galaxy formation. Though the origin of dust heating is still unsolved, it appears very likely that a large fraction of the FIR/submm emission is due to heavily-extinguished star formation. Consequently, the level of the CIRB implies that about 2/3 of galaxy/star formation in the universe is hidden by dust shrouds. In this review, we introduce a new modeling of galaxy formation and evolution that provides us with specific predictions in FIR/submm wavebands. These predictions are compared with the current status of the observations. Finally, the capabilities of current and forthcoming instruments for all-sky and deep surveys of FIR/submm sources are briefly described.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 5 postscript figures, to appear in ``The Birth of Galaxies'', 1999, B. Guiderdoni, F.R. Bouchet, T.X. Thuan & J. Tran Thanh Van (eds), Editions Frontiere