Stellar Streams, Dwarf Galaxy Pairs, and the Halos in which they Reside

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 dar