• Novae
• Photometry
• Spectroscopy

Classical Novae arise in interacting binary systems in which mass transferred from a donor star to the surface of an accreting degenerate companion initiates a runaway thermonuclear reaction leading to an explosive ejection of the envelope and the products are frozen into the ejecta. Novae are all recurrent events and the white dwarf mass may increase eventually reaching the Chandrasekhar mass and collapsing to produce a SN Ia. Theoretical arguments and simulations cannot yet capture the details of this and observations of the event are still required.
This thesis studies these processes and their dynamical manifestations through the analysis of spectra of a classical nova, V1405 Cas, using time dependent well-resolved atomic line profiles to unravel the structure and energetics imposed on the ejecta by the event. The results are compared with two other historical novae, V723 Cas and HR Del of the same photometric type. Their similarities indicate a commonality of mechanisms, specifically the relaxation process for the post-outburst WD and the recovery of the mass transfer rate in the system.
This study combines new and archival data medium resolution optical echelle spectra from Asiago telescope and the ARAS collective with optical photometry and spectrophotometry and X-ray observations with the Swift satellite. All spectral lines will be correlated with the light curve, producing a 3D representation of the elemental distribution, density, kinematics, and ionization.