The effect of an external disk on the orbital elements of a central binary

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (221) References (22) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The Effect of an External Disk on the Orbital Elements of a Central Binary Artymowicz, P. ; Clarke, C. J. ; Lubow, S. H. ; Pringle, J. E. Abstract Using smoothed particle hydrodynamics, the quasi-stationary structure of a circumbinary disk is found and its gravitational interaction with the central binary system is evaluated. The resulting rate of change of the orbital elements of the binary is examined. It is demonstrated that, in general, the semimajor axis decreases, the eccentricity grows, and the orbit precesses in the prograde sense. Numerical results for one particular model and a qualitative explanation for the effects found, mainly that of eccentricity driving, are provided. A protobinary or newly formed binary star embedded in a disk may undergo a significant orbital evolution before the disk dispersal. The application of the results to the interpretation of the observed statistics of binary eccentricities is discussed. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: March 1991 DOI: 10.1086/185971 Bibcode: 1991ApJ...370L..35A Keywords: Binary Stars; Stellar Evolution; Stellar Orbits; Accretion Disks; Eccentricity; Gravitational Effects; Stellar Mass; Stellar Models; Astrophysics; STARS: BINARIES; STARS: FORMATION; STARS: PRE--MAIN-SEQUENCE full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (1)