Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 1994
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994aj....108.1101h&link_type=abstract
The Astronomical Journal, vol. 108, no. 3, p. 1101-1111
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
12
Companion Stars, Orbital Mechanics, Spatial Distribution, Statistical Analysis, Stellar Models, Stellar Orbits, Dwarf Stars, Eccentric Orbits, Graphs (Charts), Stellar Luminosity, Stellar Mass
Scientific paper
We develop a comprehensive statistical model for the distribution of observed separations in binary star systems, in terms of distributions of orbital elements, projection effects, and distances to systems. We use this model to derive several diagnostics for estimating the completeness of imaging searches for stellar companions, and the underlying stellar multiplicities. In application to recent imaging searches for low-luminosity companions to nearby M dwarf stars, and for companions to young stars in nearby star-forming regions, our analyses reveal substantial uncertainty in estimates of stellar multiplicity. For binary stars with late-type dwarf companions, semimajor axes appear to be distributed approximately as a-1 for values ranging from about one to several thousand astronomical units. About one-quarter of the companions to field F and G dwarf stars have semimajor axes less than 1 AU, and about 15% lie beyond 1000 AU. The geometric efficiency (fraction of companions imaged onto the detector) of imaging searches is nearly independent of distances to program stars and orbital eccentricities, and varies only slowly with detector spatial limitations.
Gathright John
Heacox William D.
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