Top-Down Theories

In top-down theories of structure formation, large structures such as superclusters of galaxies form first and these then fragment to form smaller structures like galaxies. Theories of this kind predict that supercluster size blobs collapse into pancake like structures and that smaller density condensations within this pancake collapse to form galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Such theories can account for much observed structure, but they have difficulty in forming galaxies quickly (as required by high redshift observations) and predict significant galaxy formation going on today, which is not observed.