Wide Binaries Research Articles

Triplets become wide binaries

Triplets become wide binaries

Planetary system disruption by Galactic perturbations to wide binary stars

Nearly half the exoplanets found within binary star systems reside in very wide binaries with average stellar separations greater than 1,000 astronomical units (one astronomical unit (AU) being the Earth-Sun distance), yet the influence of such distant binary companions on planetary evolution remains largely unstudied. Unlike their tighter counterparts, the stellar orbits of wide binaries continually change under the influence of the Milky Way's tidal field and impulses from other passing stars. Here we report numerical simulations demonstrating that the variable nature of wide binary star orbits dramatically reshapes the planetary systems they host, typically billions of years after formation. Contrary to previous understanding, wide binary companions may often strongly perturb planetary systems, triggering planetary ejections and increasing the orbital eccentricities of surviving planets. Although hitherto not recognized, orbits of giant exoplanets within wide binaries are statistically more eccentric than those around isolated stars. Both eccentricity distributions are well reproduced when we assume that isolated stars and wide binaries host similar planetary systems whose outermost giant planets are scattered beyond about 10 AU from their parent stars by early internal instabilities. Consequently, our results suggest that although wide binaries eventually remove the most distant planets from many planetary systems, most isolated giant exoplanet systems harbour additional distant, still undetected planets.

Wide binaries as a critical test for Gravity theories

Assuming Newton's gravity and GR to be valid at all scales leads to the dark matter hypothesis as a requirement demanded by the observed dynamics and measured baryonic content at galactic and extragalactic scales. Alternatively, modified gravity scenarios where a change of regime appears at acceleration scales a < a0 have been proposed. This modified regime at a < a0 will generically be characterised by equilibrium velocities which become independent of distance. Here we identify a critical test in this debate and we propose its application to samples of wide binary stars. Since for 1M⊙ systems the acceleration drops below a0 at scales of around 7000 AU, a statistical survey of wide binaries with relative velocities and separations reaching 104 AU and beyond should prove useful to the above debate. We apply the proposed test to the best currently available data. Results show a constant upper limit to the relative velocities in wide binaries which is independent of separation for over three orders of magnitude, in analogy with galactic flat rotation curves in the same a < a0 acceleration regime. Our results are suggestive of a breakdown of Kepler's third law beyond a ≈ a0 scales, in accordance with generic predictions of modified gravity theories designed not to require any dark matter at galactic scales and beyond.

Formation of the widest binary stars from dynamical unfolding of triple systems

The formation of very wide binary systems, such as the α Centauri system with Proxima (also known as α Centauri C) separated from α Centauri (which itself is a close binary A/B) by 15,000 astronomical units (1 AU is the distance from Earth to the Sun), challenges current theories of star formation, because their separation can exceed the typical size of a collapsing cloud core. Various hypotheses have been proposed to overcome this problem, including the suggestion that ultrawide binaries result from the dissolution of a star cluster--when a cluster star gravitationally captures another, distant, cluster star. Recent observations have shown that very wide binaries are frequently members of triple systems and that close binaries often have a distant third companion. Here we report N-body simulations of the dynamical evolution of newborn triple systems still embedded in their nascent cloud cores that match observations of very wide systems. We find that although the triple systems are born very compact--and therefore initially are more protected against disruption by passing stars--they can develop extreme hierarchical architectures on timescales of millions of years as one component is dynamically scattered into a very distant orbit. The energy of ejection comes from shrinking the orbits of the other two stars, often making them look from a distance like a single star. Such loosely bound triple systems will therefore appear to be very wide binaries.

A pas de trois birth for wide binary stars

The widest binary star systems pose a challenge to theory: true stellar twins could not form so far apart. Simulations suggest these twins are in fact triplets, two of which masquerade as one star and cast out the third. See Letter p.221 Very wide binary star systems—widely separated pairs of gravitationally bound stars—are relatively common in the Milky Way, but they challenge current theories of star formation. The problem is that their separation can exceed the typical size of the collapsing cloud of dust and gas from which the stars form. Recent observations have shown that very wide binaries are frequently members of triple systems and that close binaries often have a distant third companion. Bo Reipurth and Seppo Mikkola report N-body simulations of the dynamical evolution of newborn triple systems that demonstrate that although the triple systems are compact when they are born, they can develop extreme hierarchical architectures on timescales of millions of years as one component is dynamically scattered into a very distant orbit. The energy of ejection comes from shrinking the orbits of the other two stars, often making them look like a single star. Such loosely bound triple systems will therefore appear as very wide binaries.

Constraints on the pairing properties of main-sequence stars from observations of white dwarfs in binary systems

Observations of main sequence stars conducted over the last several decades have clearly shown that something like 50 per cent of stars of spectral types G and F occur in multiple systems. For earlier spectral types, the incidence of multiplicity is even higher. Thus, a volume limited sample of white dwarfs should reflect the percentage of binarity observed in stars of F to late B spectral types, which are their Main Sequence progenitors. However, a study of the local volume limited sample of white dwarfs (20 pc from the Sun) conducted by Holberg has shown that a white dwarf has a probability of only $\sim 32$ per cent of occurring in a binary system, in stark contrast to the observations of multiplicity of Main Sequence stars. Others studies have also led to the same conclusion. In this paper, we argue that the "hidden" white dwarfs are either in double white dwarf systems or in Sirius-like systems. We also show that the white dwarf progenitors of the SDSS white dwarf - M dwarf wide binaries are distributed according to Salpeter's IMF. However, they cannot be paired with secondary stars which are also drawn from this IMF, since such a pairing would produce a percentage of white dwarf-M dwarfs systems that is several times larger than observed.

Coplanar circumbinary debris discs

We present resolved Herschel images of circumbinary debris disks in the alpha CrB (HD139006) and beta Tri (HD13161) systems. We find that both disks are consistent with being aligned with the binary orbital planes. Though secular perturbations from the binary can align the disk, in both cases the alignment time at the distances at which the disk is resolved is greater than the stellar age, so we conclude that the coplanarity was primordial. Neither disk can be modelled as a narrow ring, requiring extended radial distributions. To satisfy both the Herschel and mid-IR images of the alpha CrB disk, we construct a model that extends from 1-300AU, whose radial profile is broadly consistent with a picture where planetesimal collisions are excited by secular perturbations from the binary. However, this model is also consistent with stirring by other mechanisms, such as the formation of Pluto-sized objects. The beta Tri disk model extends from 50-400AU. A model with depleted (rather than empty) inner regions also reproduces the observations and is consistent with binary and other stirring mechanisms. As part of the modelling process, we find that the Herschel PACS beam varies by as much as 10% at 70um and a few % at 100um. The 70um variation can therefore hinder image interpretation, particularly for poorly resolved objects. The number of systems in which circumbinary debris disk orientations have been compared with the binary plane is now four. More systems are needed, but a picture in which disks around very close binaries (alpha CrB, beta Tri, and HD 98800, with periods of a few weeks to a year) are aligned, and disks around wider binaries (99 Her, with a 50 yr period) are misaligned, may be emerging. This picture is qualitatively consistent with the expectation that the protoplanetary disks from which the debris emerged are more likely to be aligned if their binaries have shorter periods.

COMMON PROPER-MOTION WIDE WHITE DWARF BINARIES SELECTED FROM THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY

Wide binaries made up of two white dwarfs (WDs) receive far less attention than their tight counterparts. However, our tests using the binary population synthesis code {\tt StarTrack} indicate that, for any set of reasonable initial conditions, there exists a significant observable population of double white dwarfs (WDWDs) with orbital separations of 10$^2$ to 10$^5$ AU. We adapt the technique of Dhital et al.\ to search for candidate common proper motion WD companions separated by $<10\amin$ around the $>$12,000 spectroscopically confirmed hydrogen-atmosphere WDs recently identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Using two techniques to separate random alignments from high-confidence pairs, we find nine new high-probability wide WDWDs and confirm three previously identified candidate wide WDWDs. This brings the number of known wide WDWDs to 45; our new pairs are a significant addition to the sample, especially at small proper motions ($<$200 mas/yr) and large angular separations ($>$10\asec). Spectroscopic follow-up and an extension of this method to a larger, photometrically selected set of SDSS WDs may eventually produce a large enough dataset for WDWDs to realize their full potential as testbeds for theories of stellar evolution.

Inclinations of Circumbinary Planets: Assembly of Protoplanetary Discs and Secular Binary-Disc Interaction

AbstractThe Kepler satellite has discovered a number of transiting planets around close binary stars. These circumbinary systems have highly aligned planetary and binary orbits. In this paper, we explore how the mutual inclination between the planetary and binary orbits may reflect the physical conditions of the assembly of protoplanetary discs and the interaction between protostellar binaries and circumbinary discs. Given the turbulent nature of star-forming molecular clouds, it is possible that the infalling gas onto the outer region of a circumbinary disc rotates around a different axis compared to the central protostellar binary. Thus, the newly assembled circumbinary disc can be misaligned with respect to the binary. However, the gravitational torque from the binary produces warp and twist in the disc, and the back-reaction torque tends to align the disc and the binary orbital plane. We present a new, analytic calculation of this alignment torque, and show that the binary-disc inclination angle can be reduced appreciably after the binary accretes a few percent of its mass from the disc. Since mass accretion onto the proto-binary is very likely to occur, our calculation suggests that in the absence of other disturbances, circumbinary discs and planets around close (sub-AU) stellar binaries are highly aligned with the binary orbits, while discs and planets around wide binaries can be misaligned.

Hot subdwarf stars in close-up view

Subluminous B stars (sdBs) form the extremely hot end of the horizontal branch and are therefore related to the blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars. While the rotational properties of BHB stars have been investigated extensively, studies of sdB stars have concentrated on close binaries that are influenced by tidal interactions between their components. Here we present a study of 105 sdB stars, which are either single stars or in wide binaries where tidal effects become negligible. The projected rotational velocities have been determined by measuring the broadening of metal lines using high-resolution optical spectra. All stars in our sample are slow rotators (${v_{\rm rot}\sin{i}}<10\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}}$). Furthermore, the $v_{\rm rot}\sin{i}$-distributions of single sdBs are similar to those of hot subdwarfs in wide binaries with main-sequence companions as well as close binary systems with unseen companions and periods exceeding $\simeq1.2\,{\rm d}$. We show that blue horizontal and extreme horizontal branch stars are also related in terms of surface rotation and angular momentum. Hot blue horizontal branch stars ($T_{\rm eff}>11\,500\,{\rm K}$) with diffusion-dominated atmospheres are slow rotators like the hot subdwarf stars located on the extreme horizontal branch, which lost more envelope and therefore angular momentum in the red-giant phase. The uniform rotation distributions of single and wide binary sdBs pose a challenge to our understanding of hot subdwarf formation. Especially the high fraction of helium white dwarf mergers predicted by theory seems to be inconsistent with the results presented here.

Towards the field binary population: influence of orbital decay on close binaries

Surveys of the binary populations in the solar neighbourhood have shown that the periods of G- and M-type stars are log-normally distributed. However, observations of young binary populations suggest a log-uniform distribution. Clearly some process(es) change the period distribution over time. Most stars form in star clusters, in which two important dynamical processes occur: i) gas-induced orbital decay of embedded binary systems and ii) destruction of soft binaries in three-body interactions. The emphasis here is on orbital decay which has been largely neglected so far. Using a combination of Monte-Carlo and dynamical nbody modelling it is demonstrated here that the cluster dynamics destroys the number of wide binaries, but leaves short-period binaries basically undisturbed even for a initially log-uniform distribution. By contrast orbital decay significantly reduces the number and changes the properties of short-period binaries, but leaves wide binaries largely uneffected. Until now it was unclear whether the short period distribution of the field is unaltered since its formation. It is shown here, that orbital decay is a prime candidate for such a task. In combination the dynamics of these two processes, convert an initial log-uniform distribution to a log-normal period distribution. The probability is 94% that the evolved and observed period distribution were sampled from the same parent distribution. This means binaries can be formed with periods that are sampled from the log-uniform distribution. As the cluster evolves, short-period binaries are merged to single stars by the gas-induced orbital decay while the dynamical evolution in the cluster destroys wide binaries. The combination of these two equally important processes reshapes a initial log-uniform period distribution to the log-normal period distribution, that is observed in the field (abridged).

RX J0942.7−7726AB: an isolated pre-main-sequence wide binary

We report the discovery of two young M-dwarfs, RX J0942.7-7726 (M1) and 2MASS J09424157-7727130 (M4.5), that were found only 42 arcsec apart in a survey for pre-main sequence stars surrounding the open cluster eta Chamaeleontis. Both stars have congruent proper motions and near-infrared photometry. Medium-resolution spectroscopy reveals that they are coeval (age 8-12 Myr), codistant (100-150 pc) and thus almost certainly form a true wide binary with a projected separation of 4000-6000 AU. The system appears too old and dynamically fragile to have originated in eta Cha and a traceback analysis argues for its birth in or near the Scorpius-Centaurus OB Association. RX J0942.7-7726AB joins a growing group of wide binaries kinematically linked to Sco-Cen, suggesting that such fragile systems can survive the turbulent environment of their natal molecular clouds while still being dispersed with large velocities. Conversely, the small radial velocity difference between the stars (2.7 \pm 1.0 km/s) could mean the system is unbound, a result of the coincidental ejection of two single stars with similar velocity vectors from the OB association early in its evolution.

The helium-rich subdwarf CPD−20°1123: a post-common-envelope binary evolving on to the extended horizontal branch

Subluminous B stars come in a variety of flavours including single stars, close and wide binaries, and pulsating and non-pulsating variables. A majority have helium-poor surfaces (helium by number nHe<1%), whilst a minority have extremely helium-rich surfaces (nHe>90%). A small number have an intermediate surface helium abundance (~ 10 - 30%), accompanied by peculiar abundances of other elements. The questions posed are i) whether these abundance peculiarities are associated with radiatively-driven and time-dependent stratification of elements within the photosphere as the star evolves from an helium-enriched progenitor to become a normal helium-poor sdB star, and ii) whether these phenomena occur only in single sdB stars or are also associated with sdB stars in binaries. We present a fine analysis of the bright intermediate-helium sdB star CPD-20 1123 (Albus 1) which shows it to be cool, for a hot subdwarf, with Teff~23 000 K and with a surface helium abundance ~17% by number. Other elements do not show extraordinary anomalies; in common with majority sdB stars, carbon and oxygen are substantially depleted, whilst nitrogen is enriched. Magnesium through sulphur appear to be depleted by ~0.5 dex, but chlorine and argon are substantially enhanced. We also present a series of radial-velocity measurements which show the star to be a close binary with an orbital period of 2.3 d, suggesting it to be a post-common-envelope system. The discovery of an intermediate helium-rich sdB star in a close binary in addition to known and apparently single exemplars supports the view that these are very young sdB stars in which radiatively-driven stratification of the photosphere is incomplete.

Predicting the fate of binary red giants using the observed sequence E star population: binary planetary nebula nuclei and post-RGB stars

Sequence E variables are close binary red giants that show ellipsoidal light variations. They are likely the immediate precursors of planetary nebulae (PNe) with close binary central. We have made a Monte Carlo simulation to determine the fraction of red giant binaries that go through a common envelope (CE) event leading to the production of a close binary system or a merged star. The novel aspect of this simulation is that we use the observed frequency of sequence E binaries in the LMC to normalize our calculations. In our standard model, we find that in the LMC today the fraction of PNe with close binary central stars is 7-9%, the fraction of PNe with intermediate period binary central stars having separations capable of influencing the nebula shape (P<500 yrs) is 23-27%, the fraction of PNe containing wide binaries that are unable to influence the nebula shape (P>500 yrs) is 46-55%, the fraction of PNe derived from single stars is 3-19% and 5-6% of PNe are produced by previously merged stars. We also predict that the birthrate of post-RGB stars is ~4% of the total PN birthrate, equivalent to ~50% of the production rate of PNe with close binary central stars. These post-RGB stars most likely appear initially as luminous low-mass helium white dwarf binaries. We use our model and the observed number of red giant stars in the top one magnitude of the RGB in the LMC to predict the number of PNe in the LMC. We predict 548 PNe in good agreement with the 541+/-89 PNe observed by Reid & Parker (2006). Since most of these PNe come from single or non-interacting binary stars in our model, this means that most such stars produce PNe contrary to the "Binary Hypothesis" which suggests that binary interaction is required to produce a PN.

An3He-DRIVEN INSTABILITY NEAR THE FULLY CONVECTIVE BOUNDARY

We report on the discovery of an instability in low mass stars just above the threshold ($\sim 0.35 \textrm{M}_{\odot}$) where they are expected to be fully convective on the main sequence. Non-equilibrium He3 burning creates a convective core, which is separated from a deep convective envelope by a small radiative zone. The steady increase in central He3 causes the core to grow until it touches the surface convection zone, which triggers fully convective episodes in what we call the "convective kissing instability". These episodes lower the central abundance and cause the star to return to a state in which is has a separate convective core and envelope. These periodic events eventually cease when the He3 abundance throughout the star is sufficiently high that the star is fully convective, and remains so for the rest of its main sequence lifetime. The episodes correspond to few percent changes in radius and luminosity, over Myr to Gyr timescales. We discuss the physics of the instability, as well as prospects for detecting its signatures in open clusters and wide binaries. Secondary stars in cataclysmic variables (CVs) will pass through this mass range, and this instability could be related to the observed paucity of such systems for periods between two and three hours. We demonstrate that the instability can be generated for CV secondaries with mass-loss rates of interest for such systems, and discuss potential implications.

Small binary asteroids and prospects for their observations with Gaia

We studied a capability of Gaia to detect binary systems among small asteroids (with diameters ≲10km) by observing their photocenter oscillation. The closest binary systems with orbital periods about 1 day or shorter show mostly a too low amplitude of the photocenter oscillation and Gaia will not be able to detect most of them with its expected astrometric performance. Wider binaries with orbital periods on an order of several days or longer shall be detectable with their amplitudes of the photocenter oscillation on an order of 10-times greater than the expected standard uncertainty of their Gaia astrometric measurements. A confusion of binaries with slowly rotating asteroids that show a rotational photocenter variation of a similar magnitude will not be significant unless the satellite is small or very large; in the range of medium-distance binaries (with the orbital periods on an order of several days), we shall be able to uniquely distinguish binaries with the diameter ratio D2/D1 between ∼0.1 and ∼0.95. Gaia will be the first survey to sample the largely unknown population of medium-distance binary systems among small main-belt asteroids where the present detection techniques (photometric and AO observations) are inefficient. A combination of Gaia binary observations with measurements with other techniques will be needed to eliminate existing degeneracy of the astrometric binary detection and to provide unique estimates of parameters of the binary systems.

ON THE ORIGIN OF PLANETS AT VERY WIDE ORBITS FROM THE RECAPTURE OF FREE FLOATING PLANETS

In recent years several planets have been discovered at wide orbits (>100 AU) around their host stars. Theoretical studies encounter difficulties in explaining their formation and origin. Here we propose a novel scenario for the production of planetary systems at such orbits, through the dynamical recapture of free floating planets (FFPs) in dispersing stellar clusters. This process is a natural extension of the recently suggested scenario for the formation of wide stellar binaries. We use N-body simulations of dispersing clusters with 10-1000 stars and comparable numbers of FFPs to study this process. We find that planets are captured into wide orbits in the typical range ~100-10^6 AU, and have a wide range of eccentricities (thermal distribution). Typically, 3-6 x (f_FFP/1) % of all stars capture a planetary companion with such properties (where f_FFP is the number of FFP per star). The planetary capture efficiency is comparable to that of capture-formed stellar-binaries, and shows a similar dependence on the cluster size and structure. It is almost independent of the specific planetary mass; planets as well as sub-stellar companions of any mass can be captured. The capture efficiency decreases with increasing cluster size, and for a given cluster size the it increases with the host/primary mass. More than one planet can be captured around the same host and planets can be captured into binary systems. Planets can also be captured into pre-existing planetary and into orbits around black holes and massive white dwarfs, if these formed early enough before the cluster dispersal. In particular, stellar black holes have a high capture efficiency (>50 % and 5-10 x (f_FFP/1) % for capture of stars and planetary companions, respectively) due to their large mass. Finally, although rare, two FFPs or brown dwarfs can become bound and form a FFP-binary system with no stellar host.

Protoplanetary disks of T Tauri binary systems in the Orion nebula cluster

We present a study of protoplanetary disks in spatially resolved low-mass binary stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) to assess the impact of binarity on the properties of circumstellar disks. This is currently the largest such study in a clustered high-stellar-density star-forming environment. We particularly aim to determine the presence of magnetospheric accretion and dust disks for each binary component, and measure the overall disk frequency. We carried out spatially resolved adaptive-optics-assisted observations to acquire near-IR photometry and spectroscopy of 26 binaries in the ONC, and determine stellar parameters such as effective temperatures, spectral types, luminosities, and masses, as well as accretion properties and near-infrared excesses for the individual binary components. A fraction of 40(+10/-9)% of the binary components in the sample can be inferred to be T Tauri stars possessing an accretion disk, marginally fewer than the disk fraction of single stars. We find that disks in wide binaries of >200AU separation are consistent with random pairing, while the evolution of circumprimary and circumsecondary disks is observed to be synchronized in close binaries (separations <200AU). Circumbinary disks appear to be unsuitable to explain this difference. Furthermore, we identify several mixed pairs of accreting and non-accreting components, suggesting that these systems are common and that there is no preference for either the more or less massive component to evolve faster. The derived accretion luminosities and mass accretion rates of the ONC binary components are of similar magnitude as those for both ONC single stars and binaries in the Taurus star-forming region. The paper concludes with a discussion of the (presumably weak) connection between the presence of inner accretion disks in young binary systems and the existence of planets in stellar multiples.(abridged)

Double stars with wide separations in the AGK3 - I. Components that are themselves spectroscopic binaries

Wide binaries are tracers of the gravity field of the Galaxy, but their study requires some caution. A large list of common proper motion stars selected from the third Astronomischen Gesellschaft Katalog (AGK3) was monitored with the CORAVEL (for COrrelation RAdial VELocities) spectrovelocimeter, in order to prepare a sample of physical binaries with very wide separations. 66 stars received special attention, since their radial velocities (RV) seemed to be variable. These stars were monitored over several years in order to derive the elements of their spectroscopic orbits. In addition, 10 of them received accurate RV measurements from the SOPHIE spectrograph of the T193 telescope at the Observatory of Haute-Provence. For deriving the orbital elements of double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2), a new method was applied, which assumed that the RV of blended measurements are linear combinations of the RV of the components. 13 SB2 orbits were thus calculated. The orbital elements were eventually obtained for 52 spectroscopic binaries (SB), two of them making a triple system. 40 SB received their first orbit and the orbital elements were improved for 10 others. In addition, 11 SB were discovered with very long periods for which the orbital parameters were not found. The median period of the 40 first orbits is 1 yr, and several SB should be resolved or should receive an astrometric orbit in future, providing the masses of the components. In addition, it appeared that HD 153252 has a close companion, which is a candidate brown dwarf with a minimum mass of 50 Jupiter masses. The final selection of wide binaries and the derivation of their statistical properties will be presented in a second paper.

REFINED METALLICITY INDICES FOR M DWARFS USING THE SLoWPoKES CATALOG OF WIDE, LOW-MASS BINARIES

We report the results from spectroscopic observations of 113 ultra-wide, low-mass binary systems, composed largely of M0--M3 dwarfs, from the SLoWPoKES catalog of common proper motion pairs identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Radial velocities of each binary member were used to confirm that they are co-moving and, consequently, to further validate the high fidelity of the SLoWPoKES catalog. Ten stars appear to be spectroscopic binaries based on broad or split spectral features, supporting previous findings that wide binaries are likely to be hierarchical systems. We measured the H{\alpha} equivalent width of the stars in our sample and found that components of 81% of the observed pairs has similar H{\alpha} levels. The difference in H{\alpha} equivalent width amongst components with similar masses was smaller than the range of H{\alpha} variability for individual objects. We confirm that the Lepine et al. {\zeta}(CaH2+CaH3, TiO5) index traces iso-metallicity loci for most of our sample of M dwarfs. However, we find a small systematic bias in {\zeta}, especially in the early-type M dwarfs. We use our sample to recalibrate the definition of {\zeta}. While representing a small change in the definition, the new {\zeta} is a significantly better predictor of iso-metallicity for the higher mass M dwarfs.