Companion Mass Distribution Research Articles

Multiples among B stars in the Scorpius-Centaurus association

Context. The frequency, semi-major axis, and mass distribution of stellar companions likely depend on the mass of the primaries and on the environment where the stars form. These properties are very different for early- and late-type stars. However, data are largely incomplete, even for the closest environments to the Sun, preventing a cleaner view of the problem. Aims. This paper provides basic information about the properties of companions to B stars in the Scorpius-Centaurus association (age ∼ 15 Myr); this is the closest association containing a large population of 181 B-stars. Methods. We gathered available data combining high contrast imaging samples from BEAST, SHINE, and previous surveys with evidence of companions from Gaia (both through direct detection and astrometry), from eclipsing binaries, and from spectroscopy. We evaluated the completeness of the binary search and estimated the mass and semi-major axis for all detected companions. These data provide a complete sample of stellar secondaries (extending well in the substellar regime) for separation> 3 au, and they are highly informative as to closer companions. Results. We found evidence for 200 companions around 181 stars. We did not find evidence for companions for only 43 (23.8 ± 3.6%) of the targets, with the fraction being as low as 15.2 ± 4.1% for stars with MA > 3.5 M⊙ while it is 31.5 ± 5.9% for lower-mass stars. This confirms earlier findings for a clear trend of a binary fraction with stellar mass. The median semi-major axis of the orbits of the companions is smaller for B than in A stars, confirming a turn-over previously found for OB stars. The mass distribution of the very wide (a > 1000 au) and closer companions is different. Very few companions of massive stars MA > 5.0 M⊙ have a mass below solar and even fewer are M stars with a semi-major axis < 1000 au. However, the scarcity of low-mass companions extends throughout the whole sample. Period and mass ratio distributions are different for early B stars (up to B7 spectral type) and stars of a later spectral type: most early B stars are in compact systems with massive secondaries, while less massive stars are mainly in wider systems with a larger spread in mass ratios. We derived log-normal fits to the distribution of the semi-major axis and mass ratios for low and high-mass B stars; these relations suggest that it is not probable that the planets and brown dwarf (BD) companions to b Cen and μ2 Sco are extreme cases in the distribution of stellar companions. Conclusions. We interpret our results as the formation of secondaries with a semi-major axis < 1000 au (about 80% of the total) by fragmentation of the disk of the primary and selective mass accretion on the secondaries. The formation of secondaries within the disk of primaries in close binaries has been proposed by many others before; it unifies the scenarios for formation of close binaries with that of substellar companions that also form within the primary disk, though on a different timescale. We also find that the observed trends with primary mass may be explained by a more prolonged phase of accretion episodes on the disk and by a more effective inward migration. Finally, in the Appendices we describe the detection of twelve new stellar companions from the BEAST survey and of a new BD companion at 9.599 arcsec from HIP 74752 using Gaia data, and we discuss the cases of possible BD and low-mass stellar companions to HIP 59173, HIP 62058, and HIP 64053.

A New Flaring Black Widow Candidate and Demographics of Black Widow Millisecond Pulsars in the Galactic Field

We present the discovery of a new optical/X-ray source likely associated with the Fermi γ-ray source 4FGL J1408.6–2917. Its high-amplitude periodic optical variability, large spectroscopic radial-velocity semiamplitude, evidence for optical emission lines and flaring, and X-ray properties together imply the source is probably a new black widow millisecond pulsar binary. We compile the properties of the 41 confirmed and suspected field black widows, finding a median secondary mass of 0.027 ± 0.003 M ⊙. Considered jointly with the more massive redback millisecond pulsar binaries, we find that the “spider” companion mass distribution remains strongly bimodal, with essentially zero systems having companion masses of between ∼0.07 and 0.1 M ⊙. X-ray emission from black widows is typically softer and less luminous than in redbacks, consistent with less efficient particle acceleration in the intrabinary shock in black widows, excepting a few systems that appear to have more efficient “redback-like” shocks. Together black widows and redbacks dominate the census of the fastest spinning field millisecond pulsars in binaries with known companion types, making up ≳80% of systems with P spin < 2 ms. Similar to redbacks, the neutron star masses in black widows appear on average significantly larger than the canonical 1.4 M ⊙, and many of the highest-mass neutron stars claimed to date are black widows with M NS ≳ 2.1 M ⊙. Both of these observations are consistent with an evolutionary picture where spider millisecond pulsars emerge from short orbital period progenitors that had a lengthy period of mass transfer initiated while the companion was on the main sequence, leading to fast spins and high masses.

Effects of the environment on the multiplicity properties of stars in the STARFORGE simulations

ABSTRACT Most observed stars are part of a multiple star system, but the formation of such systems and the role of environment and various physical processes is still poorly understood. We present a suite of radiation-magnetohydrodynamic simulations of star-forming molecular clouds from the STARFORGE project that include stellar feedback with varied initial surface density, magnetic fields, level of turbulence, metallicity, interstellar radiation field, simulation geometry and turbulent driving. In our fiducial cloud, the raw simulation data reproduces the observed multiplicity fractions for Solar-type and higher mass stars, similar to previous works. However, after correcting for observational incompleteness the simulation underpredicts these values. The discrepancy is likely due to the lack of disc fragmentation, as the simulation only resolves multiples that form either through capture or core fragmentation. The raw mass distribution of companions is consistent with randomly drawing from the initial mass function for the companions of $\gt 1\, \mathrm{M}_{\rm \odot }$ stars. However, accounting for observational incompleteness produces a flatter distribution similar to observations. We show that stellar multiplicity changes as the cloud evolves and anticorrelates with stellar density. This relationship also explains most multiplicity variations between runs, i.e. variations in the initial conditions that increase stellar density (increased surface density, reduced turbulence) also act to decrease multiplicity. While other parameters, such as metallicity, interstellar radiation, and geometry significantly affect the star formation history or the IMF, varying them produces no clear trend in stellar multiplicity properties.

Probable dormant neutron star in a short-period binary system

ABSTRACT We have identified 2XMM J125556.57+565846.4, at a distance of 600 pc, as a binary system consisting of a normal star and a probable dormant neutron star. Optical spectra exhibit a slightly evolved F-type single star, displaying periodic Doppler shifts with a 2.76-d Keplerian circular orbit, with no indication of light from a secondary component. Optical and UV photometry reveal ellipsoidal modulation with half the orbital period, due to the tidal deformation of the F-star. The mass of the unseen companion is constrained to the range of 1.1–$2.1\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ at 3σ confidence, with the median of the mass distribution at $1.4\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$, the typical mass of known neutron stars. A main-sequence star cannot masquerade as the dark companion. The distribution of possible companion masses still allows for the possibility of a very massive white dwarf. The companion itself could also be a close pair consisting of a white dwarf and an M star, or two white dwarfs, although the binary evolution that would lead to such a close triple system is unlikely. Similar ambiguities regarding the certain identification of a dormant neutron star are bound to affect most future discoveries of this type of non-interacting system. If the system indeed contains a dormant neutron star, it will become, in the future, a bright X-ray source and afterwards might even host a millisecond pulsar.

Hot subdwarfs in close binaries observed from space

Context. About a third of the hot subdwarfs of spectral type B (sdBs), which are mostly core-helium-burning objects on the extreme horizontal branch, are found in close binaries with cool, low-mass stellar, substellar, or white dwarf companions. They can show light variations due to different phenomena. Aims. Many hot subdwarfs now have space-based light curves with a high signal-to-noise ratio available. We used light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and the K2 space mission to look for more sdB binaries. Their light curves can be used to study the hot subdwarf primaries and their companions, and obtained orbital, atmospheric, and absolute parameters for those systems, when combined with other analysis methods. Methods. By classifying the light variations and combining these with the fit of the spectral energy distribution, the distance derived by the parallaxes obtained by Gaia, and the atmospheric parameters, mainly from the literature, we could derive the nature of the primaries and secondaries in 122 (75%) of the known sdB binaries and 82 newly found reflection effect systems. We derived absolute masses, radii, and luminosities for a total of 39 hot subdwarfs with cool, low-mass companions, as well 29 known and newly found sdBs with white dwarf companions. Results. The mass distribution of hot subdwarfs with cool, low-mass stellar and substellar companions, differs from those with white dwarf companions, implying they come from different populations. By comparing the period and minimum companion mass distributions, we find that the reflection effect systems all have M dwarf or brown dwarf companions, and that there seem to be several different populations of hot subdwarfs with white dwarf binaries – one with white dwarf minimum masses around 0.4 M⊙, one with longer periods and minimum companion masses up to 0.6 M⊙, and at the shortest period, another with white dwarf minimum masses around 0.8 M⊙. We also derive the first orbital period distribution for hot subdwarfs with cool, low-mass stellar or substellar systems selected from light variations instead of radial velocity variations. It shows a narrower period distribution, from 1.5 h to 35 h, compared to the distribution of hot subdwarfs with white dwarfs, which ranges from 1 h to 30 days. These period distributions can be used to constrain the previous common-envelope phase.

HST Survey of the Orion Nebula Cluster in the H2O 1.4 μm Absorption Band. III. The Population of Substellar Binary Companions

Abstract We present new results concerning the substellar binary population in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). Using the Karhunen–Loève Image Projection algorithm, we have reprocessed images taken with the IR channel of the Wide Field Camera 3 mounted on the Hubble Space Telescope to unveil faint, close companions in the wings of the stellar point-spread functions. Starting with a sample of 1392 bona fide unsaturated cluster members, we detect 39 close-pair cluster candidates with separation 0.″16–0.″77. The primary masses span a range M p ∼ 0.015–1.27 M ☉, whereas for the companions we derive M c ∼ 0.004–0.54 M ☉. Of these 39 binary systems, 18 were already known, while the remaining 21 are new detections. Correcting for completeness and combining our catalog with previously detected ONC binaries, we obtain an overall binary fraction of 11.5% ± 0.9%. Compared to other star-forming regions, our multiplicity function is ∼2 times smaller than, for example, Taurus, while compared to the binaries in the field we obtain comparable values. We analyze the mass functions of the binaries, finding differences between the mass distributions of binaries and single stars and between primary and companion mass distributions. The mass ratio shows a bottom-heavy distribution with median value M c /M p ∼ 0.25. Overall, our results suggest that ONC binaries may represent a template for the typical population of field binaries, supporting the hypothesis that the ONC may be regarded as a most typical star-forming region in the Milky Way.

On the Mass Function, Multiplicity, and Origins of Wide-orbit Giant Planets

Abstract A major outstanding question regarding the formation of planetary systems is whether wide-orbit giant planets form differently than close-in giant planets. We aim to establish constraints on two key parameters that are relevant for understanding the formation of wide-orbit planets: (1) the relative mass function and (2) the fraction of systems hosting multiple companions. In this study, we focus on systems with directly imaged substellar companions and the detection limits on lower mass bodies within these systems. First, we uniformly derive the mass probability distributions of known companions. We then combine the information contained within the detections and detection limits into a survival analysis statistical framework to estimate the underlying mass function of the parent distribution. Finally, we calculate the probability that each system may host multiple substellar companions. We find that (1) the companion mass distribution is rising steeply toward smaller masses, with a functional form of N ∝ M −1.3±0.03, and consequently, (2) many of these systems likely host additional undetected substellar companions. Combined, these results strongly support the notion that wide-orbit giant planets are formed predominantly via core accretion, similar to the better studied close-in giant planets. Finally, given the steep rise in the relative mass function with decreasing mass, these results suggest that future deep observations should unveil a greater number of directly imaged planets.

Optical Spectroscopy and Demographics of Redback Millisecond Pulsar Binaries

Abstract We present the first optical spectroscopy of five confirmed (or strong candidate) redback millisecond pulsar binaries, obtaining complete radial velocity curves for each companion star. The properties of these millisecond pulsar binaries with low-mass, hydrogen-rich companions are discussed in the context of the 14 confirmed and 10 candidate field redbacks. We find that the neutron stars in redbacks have a median mass of 1.78 ± 0.09 M ⊙ with a dispersion of σ = 0.21 ± 0.09. Neutron stars with masses in excess of 2 M ⊙ are consistent with, but not firmly demanded by, current observations. Redback companions have median masses of 0.36 ± 0.04 M ⊙ with a scatter of σ = 0.15 ± 0.04 M ⊙, and a tail possibly extending up to 0.7–0.9 M ⊙. Candidate redbacks tend to have higher companion masses than confirmed redbacks, suggesting a possible selection bias against the detection of radio pulsations in these more massive candidate systems. The distribution of companion masses between redbacks and the less massive black widows continues to be strongly bimodal, which is an important constraint on evolutionary models for these systems. Among redbacks, the median efficiency of converting the pulsar spin-down energy to γ-ray luminosity is ∼10%.

Orbital properties of binary post-AGB stars

Binary post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars are thought to be the products of a strong but poorly understood interaction during the AGB phase. The aim of this contribution is to update the orbital elements of a sample of galactic post-AGB binaries observed in a long-term radial-velocity monitoring campaign by analysing these systems in a homogeneous way. Radial velocities are computed from high signal-to-noise spectra via a cross-correlation method. The radial-velocity curves are fitted by using both a least-squares algorithm and a Nelder–Mead simplex algorithm. We use a Monte Carlo method to compute uncertainties on the orbital elements. The resulting mass functions are used to derive a companion mass distribution by optimising the predicted to the observed cumulative mass-function distributions, after correcting for observational bias. As a result, we derive and update orbital elements for 33 galactic post-AGB binaries, among which 3 are new orbits. The orbital periods of the systems range from 100 to about 3000 days. Over 70% (23 out of 33) of our binaries have significant non-zero eccentricities ranging over all periods. Their orbits are non-circular even though the Roche-lobe radii are smaller than the maximum size of a typical AGB star and tidal circularisation should have been strong when the objects were on the AGB. We derive a distribution of companion masses that is peaked around 1.09 M⊙ with a standard deviation of 0.62 M⊙. The large spread in companion masses highlights the diversity of post-AGB binary systems. Post-AGB binaries are often chemically peculiar, showing in their photospheres the result of an accretion process of circumstellar gas devoid of refractory elements. We find that only post-AGB stars with high effective temperatures (&gt; 5500 K) in wide orbits are depleted in refractory elements, suggesting that re-accretion of material from a circumbinary disc is an ongoing process. It appears, however, that depletion is inefficient for the closest orbits irrespective of the actual surface temperature.

Orbital properties of binary post-AGB stars

AbstractWe present the results of a decade-long radial velocity monitoring campaign of post-AGB binaries. We derived the orbital elements of 33 post-AGB binaries. We find a companion mass distribution centred around 1.09 M⊙ with a very large spread. All the post-AGB binaries in our sample are expected to have filled their Roche lobes while at giant dimensions. Current binary evolution models are unable to explain the observed distribution of orbits.

Observational evidence for two distinct giant planet populations

Analysis of the statistical properties of exoplanets, together with those of their host stars, are providing a unique view into the process of planet formation and evolution. In this paper we explore the properties of the mass distribution of giant planet companions to solar-type stars, in a quest for clues about their formation process. With this goal in mind we studied, with the help of standard statistical tests, the mass distribution of giant planets using data from the exoplanet.eu catalog and the SWEET-Cat database of stellar parameters for stars with planets. We show that the mass distribution of giant planet companions is likely to present more than one population with a change in regime around 4\,M$_{Jup}$. Above this value host stars tend to be more metal poor and more massive and have [Fe/H] distributions that are statistically similar to those observed in field stars of similar mass. On the other hand, stars that host planets below this limit show the well-known metallicity-giant planet frequency correlation. We discuss these results in light of various planet formation models and explore the implications they may have on our understanding of the formation of giant planets. In particular, we discuss the possibility that the existence of two separate populations of giant planets indicates that two different processes of formation are at play.

The VLT/NaCo large program to probe the occurrence of exoplanets and brown dwarfs at wide orbits

Understanding the formation and evolution of giant planets (≥1 MJup) at wide orbital separation (≥5 AU) is one of the goals of direct imaging. Over the past 15 yr, many surveys have placed strong constraints on the occurrence rate of wide-orbit giants, mostly based on non-detections, but very few have tried to make a direct link with planet formation theories. In the present work, we combine the results of our previously published VLT/NaCo large program with the results of 12 past imaging surveys to constitute a statistical sample of 199 FGK stars within 100 pc, including three stars with sub-stellar companions. Using Monte Carlo simulations and assuming linear flat distributions for the mass and semi-major axis of planets, we estimate the sub-stellar companion frequency to be within 0.75–5.70% at the 68% confidence level (CL) within 20–300 AU and 0.5–75 MJup, which is compatible with previously published results. We also compare our results with the predictions of state-of-the-art population synthesis models based on the gravitational instability (GI) formation scenario with and without scattering. We estimate that in both the scattered and non-scattered populations, we would be able to detect more than 30% of companions in the 1–75 MJup range (95% CL). With the threesub-stellar detections in our sample, we estimate the fraction of stars that host a planetary system formed by GI to be within 1.0–8.6% (95% CL). We also conclude that even though GI is not common, it predicts a mass distribution of wide-orbit massive companions that is much closer to what is observed than what the core accretion scenario predicts. Finally, we associate the present paper with the release of the Direct Imaging Virtual Archive (DIVA), a public database that aims at gathering the results of past, present, and future direct imaging surveys.

The VLT/NaCo large program to probe the occurrence of exoplanets and brown dwarfs at wide orbits

In recent years there have been many attempts to characterize the occurrence of stellar, BD and planetary-mass companions to solar-type stars, with the aim of constraining formation mechanisms. From RV observations a dearth of companions with masses between 10-40 MJup has been noticed at close separations, suggesting the possibility of a distinct formation mechanism for objects above and below this range. We present a model for the substellar companion mass function (CMF). It consists of the superposition of the planet and BD companion mass distributions, assuming that we can extrapolate the RV measured companion mass function for planets to larger separations and the stellar companion mass-ratio distribution over all separations into the BD mass regime. By using both the results of the VLT/NaCo large program and the complementary archive datasets that probe the occurrence of planets and BDs on wide orbits around solar-type stars, we place some constraints on the planet and BD distributions. We developed a MC simulation tool to predict the outcome of a given survey, depending on the shape of the orbital parameter distributions. Comparing the predictions with the results of the observations, we calculate how likely different models are and which can be ruled out. Current observations are consistent with the proposed model for the CMF, as long as a sufficiently small outer truncation radius is introduced for the planet separation distribution. The results of the direct imaging surveys searching for substellar companions around Sun-like stars are consistent with a combined substellar mass spectrum of planets and BDs. This mass distribution has a minimum between 10 and 50 MJup, in agreement with RV measurements. The dearth of objects in this mass range would naturally arise from the shape of the mass distribution, without the introduction of any distinct formation mechanism for BDs.

Hot subdwarf binaries from the MUCHFUSS project

The project Massive Unseen Companions to Hot Faint Underluminous Stars from SDSS (MUCHFUSS) aims at finding hot subdwarf stars with massive compact companions like massive white dwarfs (M>1.0 M$_\odot$), neutron stars, or stellar-mass black holes. We present orbital and atmospheric parameters and put constraints on the nature of the companions of 12 close hot subdwarf B star (sdB) binaries found in the course of the MUCHFUSS project. The systems show periods between 0.14 and 7.4 days. Three systems most likely have white dwarf companions. SDSS J083006.17+475150.3 is likely to be a rare example of a low-mass helium-core white dwarf. SDSS J095101.28+034757.0 shows an excess in the infrared that probably originates from a third companion in a wide orbit. SDSS J113241.58-063652.8 is the first helium deficient sdO star with a confirmed close companion. This study brings to 142 the number of sdB binaries with orbital periods of less than 30 days and with measured mass functions. We present an analysis of the minimum companion mass distribution and show that it is bimodal. One peak around 0.1 M$_\odot$ corresponds to the low-mass main sequence and substellar companions. The other peak around 0.4 M$_\odot$ corresponds to the white dwarf companions. The derived masses for the white dwarf companions are significantly lower than the average mass for single carbon-oxygen white dwarfs. In a T$_{\rm eff}$-log(g) diagram of sdB+dM companions, we find signs that the sdB components are more massive than the rest of the sample. The full sample was compared to the known population of extremely low-mass white dwarf binaries as well as short-period white dwarfs with main sequence companions. Both samples show a significantly different companion mass distribution. We calculate merger timescales and timescales when the companion will fill its Roche Lobe and the system evolves into a cataclysmic variable.

Mass-ratio distribution of extremely low-mass white dwarf binaries

Knowing the masses of the components of binary systems is very useful for constraining the possible scenarios that could lead to their existence. While it is sometimes possible to determine the mass of the primary star, it is challenging to obtain good mass estimates of the secondary of a single-line spectroscopic binary. If the sample of such binaries is large enough, however, it is possible to use statistical methods to determine the mass-ratio distribution, and thus, the mass distribution of the secondary. Recently, the mass distribution of companions to extremely low-mass white dwarfs was studied using a sample of binaries from the ELM WD Survey. I reanalyse the same sample with two different methods: in the first one, I assume some functional form for the mass distribution, while in the second, I apply an inversion method. I show that the resulting companion-mass distribution can be as well approximated by either a uniform or a Gaussian distribution. The mass-ratio distribution derived from the inversion method without assuming any a priori functional form shows some additional fine-grain structure, although, given the small sample, it is difficult to claim that this structure is statistically significant. I conclude that it is not yet possible to fully constrain the distribution of the mass of the companions to extremely low-mass white dwarfs, although it appears that the probability to have a neutron star in one of the systems is indeed very low.

THE MASS DISTRIBUTION OF COMPANIONS TO LOW-MASS WHITE DWARFS

Measuring the masses of companions to single-line spectroscopic binary stars is (in general) not possible because of the unknown orbital plane inclination. Even when the mass of the visible star can be measured, only a lower limit can be placed on the mass of the unseen companion. However, since these inclination angles should be isotropically distributed, for a large enough, unbiased sample, the companion mass distribution can be deconvolved from the distribution of observables. In this work, we construct a hierarchical probabilistic model to infer properties of unseen companion stars given observations of the orbital period and projected radial velocity of the primary star. We apply this model to three mock samples of low-mass white dwarfs (LMWDs, $M\lesssim0.45~\Msun$) and a sample of post-common-envelope binaries. We use a mixture of two Gaussians to model the WD and neutron star (NS) companion mass distributions. Our model successfully recovers the initial parameters of these test data sets. We then apply our model to 55 WDs in the extremely low-mass (ELM) WD Survey. Our maximum a posteriori model for the WD companion population has a mean mass $\mu_{\rm WD} = 0.74~\Msun$, with a standard deviation $\sigma_{\rm WD} = 0.24~\Msun$. Our model constrains the NS companion fraction $f_{\rm NS}$ to be $<$16\% at 68\% confidence. We make samples from the posterior distribution publicly available so that future observational efforts may compute the NS probability for newly discovered LMWDs.

Binary mass ratios: system mass not primary mass

Abstract Binary properties are usually expressed (for good observational reasons) as a function of primary mass. It has been found that the distribution of companion masses – the mass ratio distribution – is different for different primary masses. We argue that system mass is the more fundamental physical parameter to use. We show that if system masses are drawn from a log-normal mass function, then the different observed mass ratio distributions as a function of primary mass, from M-dwarfs to A-stars, are all consistent with a universal, flat, system mass ratio distribution. We also show that the brown dwarf mass ratio distribution is not drawn from the same flat distribution, suggesting that the process which decides upon mass ratios is very different in brown dwarfs and stars.

MAPPING THE SHORES OF THE BROWN DWARF DESERT. III. YOUNG MOVING GROUPS

We present the results of an aperture masking interferometry survey for substellar companions around 67 members of the young (~8-200Myr) nearby (~5-86pc) AB Doradus, Beta Pictoris, Hercules-Lyra, TW Hya, and Tucana-Horologium stellar associations. Observations were made at near infrared wavelengths between 1.2-3.8 microns using the adaptive optics facilities of the Keck II, VLT UT4, and Palomar Hale Telescopes. Typical contrast ratios of ~100-200 were achieved at angular separations between ~40-320mas, with our survey being 100% complete for companions with masses below 0.25\msolar across this range. We report the discovery of a $0.52 \pm 0.09$\msolar companion to HIP14807, as well as the detections and orbits of previously known stellar companions to HD16760, HD113449, and HD160934. We show that the companion to HD16760 is in a face-on orbit, resulting in an upward revision of its mass from $M_2 \sin i \sim 14$\mjupiter to $M_2 = 0.28 \pm 0.04$\msolar. No substellar companions were detected around any of our sample members, despite our ability to detect companions with masses below 80\mjupiter for 50 of our targets: of these, our sensitivity extended down to 40\mjupiter around 30 targets, with a subset of 22 subject to the still more stringent limit of 20\mjupiter. A statistical analysis of our non-detection of substellar companions allows us to place constraints on their frequency around ~0.2-1.5\msolar stars. In particular, considering companion mass distributions that have been proposed in the literature, we obtain an upper limit estimate of ~9-11% for the frequency of 20-80\mjupiter companions between 3-30AU at 95% confidence, assuming that their semimajor axes are distributed according to $d\mathcal{N}/da \propto a^{-1}$ in this range.

A mass transfer origin for blue stragglers in NGC 188 as revealed by half-solar-mass companions

In open star clusters, where all members formed at about the same time, blue straggler stars are typically observed to be brighter and bluer than hydrogen-burning main-sequence stars, and therefore should already have evolved into giant stars and stellar remnants. Correlations between blue straggler frequency and cluster binary star fraction, core mass and radial position suggest that mass transfer or mergers in binary stars dominates the production of blue stragglers in open clusters. Analytic models, detailed observations and sophisticated N-body simulations, however, argue in favour of stellar collisions. Here we report that the blue stragglers in long-period binaries in the old (7 × 10(9)-year) open cluster NGC 188 have companions with masses of about half a solar mass, with a surprisingly narrow mass distribution. This conclusively rules out a collisional origin, as the collision hypothesis predicts a companion mass distribution with significantly higher masses. Mergers in hierarchical triple stars are marginally permitted by the data, but the observations do not favour this hypothesis. The data are highly consistent with a mass transfer origin for the long-period blue straggler binaries in NGC 188, in which the companions would be white dwarfs of about half a solar mass.

Search for brown-dwarf companions of stars

The discovery of 9 new brown-dwarf candidates orbiting stars in the CORALIE and HARPS radial-velocity surveys is reported. New CORALIE radial velocities yielding accurate orbits of 6 previously-known hosts of potential brown-dwarf companions are presented. Including targets selected from the literature, 33 hosts of potential brown-dwarf companions are examined. Employing innovative methods, we use the new reduction of the Hipparcos data to fully characterise the astrometric orbits of 6 objects, revealing M-dwarf companions with masses between 90 M_Jup and 0.52 M_Sun. Additionally, the masses of two companions can be restricted to the stellar domain. The companion to HD 137510 is found to be a brown dwarf. At 95 % confidence, the companion of HD 190228 is also a brown dwarf. The remaining 23 companions persist as brown-dwarf candidates. Based on the CORALIE planet-search sample, we obtain an upper limit of 0.6 % for the frequency of brown-dwarf companions around Sun-like stars. We find that the companion-mass distribution function is rising at the lower end of the brown-dwarf mass range, suggesting that in fact we are detecting the high-mass tail of the planetary distribution.