Good Questions about Replica Synchronization

I have some really good questions about replication synchronization.

I have noticed that when I created a one-way replica between 2 ArcSDE geodatabases, a synchronization version was automatically created in both the parent and the child geodatabases (per info that shows in the 'Manage Replicas' dialog). The synchronization version names are the name of the replica plus _<some integer>.

However, these versions are not listed in the 'Version Manager' dialog and they don't show up in the SDE.VERSIONS internal table.

Do synchronization versions have special internal handling?

How do edits that occur in the parent geodatabase make their way into the parent synchronization version?

How do edits that move to the synchronization version of the child end get posted upward (published) in the child geodatabase? How can you reconcile and post when the synchronization version doesn't show up in the 'Version Manager'? Or do changes get posted automatically on the child end during synchronization? ...And what if the data is not registered as versioned in the child end?