Intergalactic matter and radiation and its bearing on galaxy formation and evolution

An up-dated review is given of the evidence for the presence of intergalactic matter and radiation in the Universe. It is concluded that the only important constituents which may make a sizable contribution to the total mass-energy are intergalactic gas and condensed objects with a very high mass-to-light ratio. If the QSOs are not at cosmological distances, cold atomic hydrogen may still be the most important constituent and may contribute much more mass than do the galaxies. The X-ray observations still do not unambiguously show that very hot gas is present, though it is very likely on general grounds that some hot gas is present in clusters of galaxies. The question of whether or not large amounts of matter, enough to close the Universe, are present, remains unsettled. From the theoretical standpoint the answer depends almost completely on the approach taken to the problem of galaxy formation and to the cosmological model which is favored.