Abstract: In the standard Lamda CDM model galaxies are formed in collapsed dark matter halos.  These dark matter halos are produced from the initial density and velocity perturbations that evolve through gravitational attraction. New JWST observations put stringent constraints on number of galaxies per unit volume, mass of stars in galaxies and number density of super-massive blackholes etc. In this talk the speaker will present the widely accepted scenario of galaxy formation, its present status and how these models perform against the JWST observations. The speaker will also present the ongoing efforts in India to address this problem.

About the Speaker: Prof. Raghunathan Srianand is the director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune. He is a renowned Indian cosmologist and astrophysicist, known for his groundbreaking studies on redshift evolution and the cosmic microwave background radiation. Prof. Srianand is a member of the International Astronomical Union and a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for science and technology in 2008 by CSIR.

Prof. Srianand is involved in various observational and theoretical projects: 1) probing the physical conditions in the high-z proto-galaxies traced by DLAs, 2) probing the time and space variation of fundamental constants using very high resolution spectra of QSOs, 3) tracing the redshift evolution of the CMB temperature using fine-structure lines and 4) semi-analytic modelling of formation and evolution of IGM, reionization and redshift evolution of global star formation rate density in the universe.

We look forward to your active participation.