ABSTRACT

Many of the least well-understood aspects of the process of galaxy formation involve the response of galaxies and the intergalactic medium to energy input from young stars, supernovae, and black hole accretion. I will discuss new results based on spectroscopic observations in densely-sampled regions of the universe at redshifts z=2-3. This cosmic epoch is ideally suited to studies of the effects of radiative and hydrodynamical "feedback" and its global influence on structure formation-- it both marks the global peak in the intensity of feedback processes, and maximizes the information content of observations with current-generation ground-based O/IR telescopes.