This research seeks to improve the agreement between the observational properties and theoretical understanding of novae, recurrent novae and some types of symbiotic binary stars. Efforts to improve the computed models will focus on incorporating a proper treatment of the nuclear physics (i.e. b-limited CNO cycle reactions), convective motions at the peak of the explosion, and spatial distribution of the ejecta. The objective is to achieve a better agreement with the observed light and radial velocity curves of three specific novae for which extensive observations are available. A detailed understanding of these types of luminous stellar outbursts impacts areas outside the immediate field. Such events contribute to the enrichment of the interstellar medium by heavy elements. Their peak luminosities provide ways of calibrating the distances to structures within our Galaxy, and also to the extragalactic distance scale.
