The majority of stars occur in binary, tertiary, and still higher order systems. Some of the stars in binary systems are in such close proximity of each other that they strongly effect each other's structures and evolution. In such "interacting" binaries, one frequently observes mass transfer from one star to the other, an accretion disk around the mass receiving star, and heating and structural distortions of the stars' atmospheres and the disk. The Principal Investigator proposes to study these phenomena in the case of a selected group of interacting binaries, employing simultaneous photometry and spectroscopy. The instrument to be used will be the one-meter Illinois reflector that is now located at the Mount Laguna Observatory 50 miles east of San Diego and maintained by the Astronomy Department of the San Diego State University. The work will be carried out in collaboration with Dr. Edward C. Olson of the University of Illinois.
