The Physics of the Lyman Alpha Forest and Large Telescopes
M. Rauch^1
1 Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, USA
QSO absorption line studies is one of the research fields that have gained most from the earlier transition from 4-meter to 8-meter-class telescopes. Coinciding in time with a breakthrough in theoretical modelling (cosmological hydro-simulations became available in the early 1990's) in particular our understanding of the nature and physics of the low density intergalactic medium (or the Lyman alpha forest, its main observational manifestation) has been revolutionized by the advent of the high signal-to noise ratio data and the large number of QSO sightlines delivered by the first large telescopes (Keck, VLT, Gemini, Magellan). We describe some of the occasionally surprising scientific results, and how they were made possible by the progress in instrumentation. We then identify some of the new questions raised, and speculate about qualitatively new directions the subject would take with the benefit of observations with ELTs.

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