The Satellites and Stellar Halos of Nearby Milky Way-Mass Galaxies by Adam James Smercina A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Astronomy and Astrophysics) in The University of Michigan 2020 Doctoral Committee: Professor Eric F. Bell, Chair Associate Professor Jeremy Bailin Professor David Gerdes Professor Mario Mateo Professor John-David T. Smith Research Professor Monica Valluri Deer Mountain, RMNP Adam Smercina
[email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2599-7524 © Adam Smercina 2020 All Rights Reserved For Darian, my love and greatest friend. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the love and support of a number of very special people. I first want to thank my Mom and Dad. Throughout my formative years, you always encouraged me to ask questions | like: \how does Davis{Besse work?" (Davis{Besse is the local nuclear plant in Ottawa County, OH) | and think creatively. Whether I was interested in dinosaurs or LEGOs, you al- ways provided me a space to grow and find myself. This encouragement and support ultimately fueled my creative spirit, my quest for greater knowledge, and my drive to follow my dreams. You have also continued to support me with unending enthusiasm through these later years, most importantly throughout my graduate career at Michi- gan. Whether it be driving to Ann Arbor and meeting for dinner or downloading and reading my papers as soon as they showed up on the arXiv (after learning what the arXiv was), you have remained constant pillars of support and joy in my life.