2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/177190Using the initial peculiar velocity field, we analytically study the hierarchical formation of gravitationally bound objects. The field is smoothed over a scale that corresponds to the mass of a given class of objects. Through the Zel'dovich approximation, the smoothed field determines how the objects cluster together to form a new class of more massive objects. The standard cosmological parameters lead to the evolution of primordial clouds with 10^6 M(sun) -> galaxies with 10^12 M(sun) -> clusters of galaxies with 10^15 M(sun) -> superclusters of galaxies with 10^16 M(sun). The epochs obtained for the formation of these classes of objects are consistent with observations.16 pages; This version corrects errors in equations and figures of the published version; The errors are also corrected in the erratum (ApJ, 659, 1792 [2007])Astrophysicstext