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A 67" x 104" area of the metal-rich globular cluster M71 was searched for variable stars using 73 CCD frames. Using mean B and V values a colour-magnitude diagram down to V ≈ 22 is constructed. Four variables were discovered, with two more stars classed as possible candidates for variability. Phase diagrams and real time light curves are presented for all variables. One variable blue straggler (or SX Phe star) has been discovered with a period of 0.d05181. Values for the mass depend on the pulsation mode assumed for this star - (0.90 ± 0.13)M. for the first overtone mode, and (1.57 ± 0.22)M. for the fundamental mode. A second variable, of similar period (0.d06053), but with a magnitude l.m75 below the main sequence turn off was also found but it may be a field star. Two candidate eclipsing binary systems were found. The most likely period of one is 0.d37244. This value, and the shape of the light curve, suggest it may be a W UMa type variable. Its position on the CMD suggests that it too may be a field star. No period was obtainable for the other candidate binary due to a lack of phase coverage. Further data is needed to confirm and strengthen these claims. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate

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An introduction is given to the fields of X-ray and cataclysmic binaries, low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and globular clusters. New observations of the W Vir star AC5 (=V86) are used show that it is probably the source of Hα emission previous authors have found in core of the globular cluster M15. The first phase resolved optical spectroscopy of AC211, the optical counterpart of the X-ray source in M15, are presented, and its binary period discovered to be 9.l±0.5 hours. A re-analysis of archive ultraviolet (UV) spectra of M15, shows spectral features which are attributed to AC211. These observations are combined with those of other authors, to prove AC211 is probably an "accretion disc corona" (ADC) source. After reviewing the superoutbursts of the SU UMa class of dwarf novae, X-ray, UV, optical and infrared observations of the SU UMa star OY Car are used to show that during superoutburst there is extensive vertical structure in its accretion disc, similar to that in the ADC and "dipping" LMXBs. Archive UV data from the 1978 outburst of WZ Sge shows that it had similar vertical structure. UV observations presented of EX Hya during a bright outburst may have the same explanation. From the OY Car data, a temperature and area for the region which produces the "superhump" light are derived, of 8 OOOK and ^-10²⁰cm², respectively. It is found that during OY Car's superoutburst, the size of the 0-C variations of the eclipse timings are significantly smaller than was previously thought, and that it has an extended X-ray source whose size is comparable to the binary separation. The results are discussed with respect to models of the superhump phenomena in SU UMa stars, and possible causes of vertical disc structure in X-ray and cataclysmic binaries.

In this Dissertation we explore how the nature of tidal interactions tear gravitationally bound systems apart into distinct morphological and kinematic structures. We use the properties of these structures, persisting for billions of years, to investigate the potential of the Milky Way Galaxy and to disentangle the baryonic evolution of gas in dwarf galaxy interactions. We approach these problems through a combination of observations, and simulations, as well as comparisons between the two. In particular, we use the properties of the thin, curved stellar stream emerging from the old, Milky Way globular cluster, Palomar 5 (Pal 5) to show that its mere existence can rule out a moderately triaxial potential model of our Galaxy. Pal 5-like streams on appropriate orbits diffuse much further in space from the orbital path (dubbed “stream-fanning”) in this triaxial potential than in the oblate case. We further show that torques from the Milky Way’s Galactic bar, can create ever-widening gaps in stellar streams. The fact that the bar can create such under densities, demonstrates that we should be careful when interpreting gaps in stellar streams as indirect evidence of the existence of dark matter subhalos in our Galaxy. We carry out a systematic study of resolved neutral hydrogen (HI) synthesis maps of 10 interacting dwarf galaxy pairs. The pairs are located in a range of environments and captured at various interaction stages. We find that the neutral gas is extended in the interacting pairs when compared to non-paired analogs, indicating that gas is tidally pre- processed. Additionally, we find that dwarf-dwarf interactions enable the “parking” of gas at large distances to serve as a continual gas supply channel to the dwarfs until accretion by a more massive host. We model a specific dwarf pair in our sample, NGC 4490/85, which is an isolated analog of the Magellanic Clouds and is surrounded by a ∼50 kpc extended HI envelope. We use hybrid N-body and test-particle simulations along with a visualization interface to simultaneously reproduce the observed present-day morphology and kinematics. Our numerical results con- firm that encounters between two dwarf galaxies can “park” baryons at very large distances, without the aid of environmental effects. The extended tidal features will continue to evolve over several billion years which will affect the efficiency of gas stripping if such dwarf pairs are accreted by a massive host. In contrast, in isolated environments dwarf-dwarf interactions can create a long-lived supply mode of gas to the merger remnant potentially explaining the population of dwarfs in the field with large gas envelopes, but limited star formation. All of these topics share the common theme of utilizing morphological and kinematic structures left behind from ongoing gravitational interactions on various scales.

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