  A better understanding of the formation of large-scale structure in the
Universe is arguably the most pressing question in cosmology. The most
compelling and promising theoretical paradigm, Inflation + Cold Dark Matter,
holds that the density inhomogeneities that seeded the formation of structure
in the Universe originated from quantum fluctuations arising during inflation
and that the bulk of the dark matter exists as slowing moving elementary
particles (`cold dark matter') left over from the earliest, fiery moments.
Large redshift surveys (such as the SDSS and 2dF) and high-resolution
measurements of CBR anisotropy (to be made by the MAP and Planck Surveyor
satellites) have the potential to decisively test Inflation + Cold Dark Matter
and to open a window to the very early Universe and fundamental physics.
