Parker, R.J., Goodwin, S.P. and Allison, R.J. (2011) The evolution of binary populations in cool, clumpy star clusters. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 418 (4). pp. 2565-2575. ISSN 0035-8711
Abstract
Observations and theory suggest that star clusters can form in a subvirial (cool) state and are highly substructured. Such initial conditions have been proposed to explain the level of mass segregation in clusters through dynamics, and have also been successful in explaining the origin of Trapezium-like systems. In this paper, we investigate, using N-body simulations, whether such a dynamical scenario is consistent with the observed binary properties in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). We find that several different primordial binary populations are consistent with the overall fraction and separation distribution of visual binaries in the ONC (in the range 67–670 au), and that these binary systems are heavily processed. The substructured, cool-collapse scenario requires a primordial binary fraction approaching 100 per cent. We find that the most important factor in processing the primordial binaries is the initial level of substructure; a highly substructured cluster processes up to 20 per cent more systems than a less substructured cluster because of localized pockets of high stellar density in the substructure. Binaries are processed in the substructure before the cluster reaches its densest phase, suggesting that even clusters remaining in virial equilibrium or undergoing supervirial expansion would dynamically alter their primordial binary population. Therefore, even some expanding associations may not preserve their primordial binary population.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2011 The Authors © 2011 RAS. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | methods: numerical; stars: formation; Galaxy: kinematics and dynamics; open clusters and associations: general |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Aug 2017 12:12 |
Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2018 00:42 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19646.x |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19646.x |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:120260 |