Effect of low-velocity, low-mass intruders (collisionless gas) on the dynamical evolution of a binary system
More than 20 000 computer-simulated encounters between low-mass (compared to the binary components) intruders and binary systems have been made. These calculations were made in the limit where the intruder velocity is small compared to he orbital velocity of the binary. The dependence of the encounters on orbital eccentricity, mass ratios of the binary components, and impact parameter was found. These encounters increase the binding energy of the binary. At zero impact parameter, the average increase in the binding energy is proportional to the square of the binary orbital eccentricity. However, the increase in the binding energy decreases much faster with increasing impact parameter as the eccentricity increases. The total cross section for increasing the binding energy of a binary through encounters with low-mass intruders is independent of the orbital eccentricity of the binary. The average increase in the binding energy per encounter is directly proportional to the mass of the intruder (in the limit where its mass is small compared to the binary mass). If the binary components are equally massive, the probability that the intruder is captured into a long-lived orbit which persists for about 700 revolutions of the original binary is only about 1% at zero impact parameter. However, the probability of long-term capture climbs rapidly for encounters in which the closest approach, R/sub min/ , of the intruder to the binary is greater than 0.5 of the semimajor axis a/sub 0/ of the orbit. The results of these calculations are applied to a binary embedded in an elementary-particle background and to the perturbation of long-period comets by a star-planet system.
- Research Organization:
- Theoretical Division, T-6, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
- OSTI ID:
- 5832777
- Journal Information:
- Astron. J.; (United States), Vol. 88:8
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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GENERAL PHYSICS
BINARY STARS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
GRAVITATIONAL INTERACTIONS
ORBITS
STAR EVOLUTION
BINDING ENERGY
CAPTURE
COLLISIONS
COMETS
GASES
PERTURBATION THEORY
THREE-BODY PROBLEM
TWO-BODY PROBLEM
BASIC INTERACTIONS
ENERGY
FLUIDS
INTERACTIONS
MANY-BODY PROBLEM
SIMULATION
STARS
640102* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
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