Circumbinary dust disks - reconciling the theory of close binary evolution with observation

Details Circumbinary dust disks - reconciling the theory of close binary evolution with observation Circumbinary dust disks - reconciling the theory of close binary evolution with observation

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008sptz.prop50058b&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #50058

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Scientific paper

The evolution of all close binary systems is driven by the loss of angular momentum from the system. Standard theory invokes two mechanisms for this loss - gravitational radiation and magnetic braking - and forms the backbone of virtually all studies based on binary evolution rates. Recent studies, however, have shown that the extrapolations in which the standard theory is based are wrong, suggesting that the true evolutionary rate of binary systems should be 10 - 10000 slower than previously predicted. To confuse the matter further, observational studies show that binary systems are actually evolving around 1000 times faster than this revised theory suggests, leading to the speculation that there is another angular momentum loss mechanism at work. One of the more likely candidates is the presence of a cool, dusty disk around the binary, which drains angular momentum from the system via tidal coupling. We propose to combine a Spitzer search for circumbinary dust disks with results from an ongoing project to directly measure the evolutionary rates of a number of detached binary systems. By modelling these disks, we will be able to test for any correlation between disk mass and evolutionary rate, and test whether the presence of these dusty disks could finally bring the theory of close binary evolution into line with observation.

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