Velocity Effects in Triple Stellar Systems

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (18) References (7) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Velocity Effects in Triple Stellar Systems Szebehely, Victor Abstract Previous results concerning the evolution and eventual disintegration of triple stellar systems are extended to more general initial conditions. Specifically, the initial velocities used in this paper are different from zero. The initial value of the virial coefficient is 1 for some of the numerical experiments and less for others. The total energy of the system is negative in all cases investigated in this paper since the process of disinte- gration is trivial and predictable for positive energy. The following results are obtained: (i) it is demon- strated that parameters frequently used to describe triple stellar systems, i.e., the total energy, virial coefficient, and angular momentum cannot predict-even qualitatively the behavior of the system; (ii) a parametric study shows the continuous process from temporary elliptic ejection to permanent hyper- bolic escape of one of the stars of the system and reveals the effect of the initial velocity on the stability of the triple system; (iii) the distintegration times established by high precision numerical integrations are found to be between 102 and l0 yr; (iv) systems with large angular momentum are more stable and are more successful in delaying disintegration than those with zero angular momentum. Publication: The Astronomical Journal Pub Date: March 1972 DOI: 10.1086/111262 Bibcode: 1972AJ.....77..169S full text sources ADS |