Star Formation and Cosmological Simulations

The inclusion of a detailed modeling of the short-scale baryonic physics in a large-scale cosmological simulation is crucial for a better comparison between observations and predictions from cosmological models. From a set of 3D hydrodynamical simulations which include a chemical model to account for the complex physics of the ISM at a sub-grid scale, we have been able to obtain a statistically significant sample of galaxy-type halos with observational properties, like colors and luminosities for different cosmological scenarios. From this data base, we have studied a number of different things, like Tully-Fisher relations, luminosity functions and environmental effects. Despite the progress made during the last few years in the modeling of the physics of ISM and star formation, more work is clearly needed.