Multiplicity Survey of Alpha Persei: Studying the Evolution and Effects of Companions

Details Multiplicity Survey of Alpha Persei: Studying the Evolution and Effects of Companions Multiplicity Survey of Alpha Persei: Studying the Evolution and Effects of Companions

Dec 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7833p&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #7833

Computer Science

Hst Proposal Id #7833 Cool Stars Low-Mass Stars

Scientific paper

Extensive observations have established that binaries are twice as common amongst pre-main sequence stars than older solar neighborhood G-dwarfs. The origin of this dramatic decrease in multiplicity is not known, but disruption of multiple systems through interactions is a possible mechanism. The predicted decline in multiplicity with age should be more pronounced among low mass stars, due to their lower binding energy. We propose to test this hypothesis by conducting a J- band companion search with NICMOS1 of 35 low mass stars in the young {50-80 Myr} cluster Alpha Persei which has an age intermediate between the T Tauri stars and the solar neighborhood. Given the young age of Alpha Persei, the J-band data are capable of detecting companions with masses as low as /sim40 M_J, thus, the HST observations will probe the frequency of both stellar and substellar companions. Additionally, these data will place observational constraints on models of star formation and will clarify the role of companion stars in the timescale for disk dissipation. HST offers the only means of obtaining high sensitivity, high resolution images of the lower mass stars. HST images of these stars will allow us to {1} investigate the existence and the mass dependence of an evolutionary trend in the binary fraction, {2} test mass dependent predictions of binary star formation models, and {3} study the importance of companion stars in the dissipation of circumstellar disks.

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