There is now strong evidence that the close binary fraction (P < 104 days; a < 10 au) of solar-type stars (M1 0.6-1.5 ) decreases significantly with metallicity. Although early surveys showed that ...the observed spectroscopic binary (SB) fractions in the galactic disk and halo are similar (e.g., Carney-Latham sample), these studies did not correct for incompleteness. In this study, we examine five different surveys and thoroughly account for their underlying selection biases to measure the intrinsic occurrence rate of close solar-type binaries. We reanalyze (1) a volume-limited sample of solar-type stars, (2) the Carney-Latham SB survey of high proper motion stars, (3) various SB samples of metal-poor giants, (4) the APOGEE survey of radial velocity (RV) variables, and (5) eclipsing binaries (EBs) discovered by Kepler. The observed APOGEE RV variability fraction and Kepler EB fraction both decrease by a factor of 4 across −1.0 < Fe/H < 0.5 at the 22 and 9 confidence levels, respectively. After correcting for incompleteness, all five samples/methods exhibit a quantitatively consistent anticorrelation between the intrinsic close binary fraction (a < 10 au) and metallicity: Fclose = 53% 12%, 40% 6%, 24% 4%, and 10% 3% at Fe/H = −3.0, −1.0, −0.2 (mean field metallicity), and +0.5, respectively. We present simple fragmentation models that explain why the close binary fraction of solar-type stars strongly decreases with metallicity while the wide binary fraction, close binary fraction of OB stars, and initial mass function are all relatively constant across −1.5 Fe/H < 0.5. The majority of solar-type stars with Fe/H −1.0 will interact with a stellar companion, which has profound implications for binary evolution in old and metal-poor environments such as the galactic halo, bulge, thick disk, globular clusters, dwarf galaxies, and high-redshift universe.
Solar-type binaries with short orbital periods ( days; a 0.1 au) cannot form directly via fragmentation of molecular clouds or protostellar disks, yet their component masses are highly correlated, ...suggesting interaction during the pre-main-sequence (pre-MS) phase. Moreover, the close binary fraction of pre-MS stars is consistent with that of their MS counterparts in the field ( ). Thus, we can infer that some migration mechanism operates during the early pre-MS phase (τ 5 Myr) that reshapes the primordial separation distribution. We test the feasibility of this hypothesis by carrying out a population synthesis calculation which accounts for two formation channels: Kozai-Lidov (KL) oscillations and dynamical instability in triple systems. Our models incorporate (1) more realistic initial conditions compared to previous studies, (2) octupole-level effects in the secular evolution, (3) tidal energy dissipation via weak-friction equilibrium tides at small eccentricities and via non-radial dynamical oscillations at large eccentricities, and (4) the larger tidal radius of a pre-MS primary. Given a 15% triple-star fraction, we simulate a close binary fraction from KL oscillations alone of after τ = 5 Myr, which increases to by τ = 5 Gyr. Dynamical ejections and disruptions of unstable coplanar triples in the disk produce solitary binaries with slightly longer periods P 10-100 days. The remaining 60% of close binaries with outer tertiaries, particularly those in compact coplanar configurations with log (days) 2-5 ( au), can be explained only with substantial extra energy dissipation due to interactions with primordial gas.
ABSTRACT
Close binaries suppress the formation of circumstellar (S-type) planets and therefore significantly bias the inferred planet occurrence rates and statistical trends. After compiling various ...radial velocity and high-resolution imaging surveys, we determine that binaries with a < 1 au fully suppress S-type planets, binaries with a = 10 au host close planets at 15$_{-12}^{+17}$ per cent the occurrence rate of single stars, and wide binaries with a > 200 au have a negligible effect on close planet formation. We show that F = 43 ± 7 per cent of solar-type primaries in magnitude-limited samples do not host close planets due to suppression by close stellar companions. By removing spectroscopic binaries from their samples, radial velocity surveys for giant planets boost their detection rates by a factor of 1/(1-F) = 1.8 ± 0.2 compared to transiting surveys. This selection bias fully accounts for the discrepancy in hot Jupiter and close Neptune occurrence rates inferred from these two detection methods. Correcting for both planet suppression by close binaries and transit dilution by wide binaries, the occurrence rate of small planets orbiting single G-dwarfs is 2.1 ± 0.3 times larger than the rate inferred from all G-dwarfs in the Kepler survey. Additionally, about half (but not all) of the observed increase in small, short-period planets towards low-mass hosts can be explained by the corresponding decrease in the binary fraction.
A major outstanding question regarding the formation of planetary systems is whether wide-orbit giant planets form differently than close-in giant planets. We aim to establish constraints on two key ...parameters that are relevant for understanding the formation of wide-orbit planets: (1) the relative mass function and (2) the fraction of systems hosting multiple companions. In this study, we focus on systems with directly imaged substellar companions and the detection limits on lower mass bodies within these systems. First, we uniformly derive the mass probability distributions of known companions. We then combine the information contained within the detections and detection limits into a survival analysis statistical framework to estimate the underlying mass function of the parent distribution. Finally, we calculate the probability that each system may host multiple substellar companions. We find that (1) the companion mass distribution is rising steeply toward smaller masses, with a functional form of N ∝ M−1.3 0.03, and consequently, (2) many of these systems likely host additional undetected substellar companions. Combined, these results strongly support the notion that wide-orbit giant planets are formed predominantly via core accretion, similar to the better studied close-in giant planets. Finally, given the steep rise in the relative mass function with decreasing mass, these results suggest that future deep observations should unveil a greater number of directly imaged planets.
Massive circumstellar disks are prone to gravitational instabilities, which trigger the formation of spiral arms that can fragment into bound clumps under the right conditions. Two-dimensional ...simulations of self-gravitating disks are useful starting points for studying fragmentation because they allow high-resolution simulations of thin disks. However, convergence issues can arise in 2D from various sources. One of these sources is the 2D approximation of self-gravity, which exaggerates the effect of self-gravity on small scales when the potential is not smoothed to account for the assumed vertical extent of the disk. This effect is enhanced by increased resolution, resulting in fragmentation at longer cooling timescales β. If true, it suggests that the 3D simulations of disk fragmentation may not have the same convergence problem and could be used to examine the nature of fragmentation without smoothing self-gravity on scales similar to the disk scale height. To that end, we have carried out local 3D self-gravitating disk simulations with simple β cooling with fixed background irradiation to determine if 3D is necessary to properly describe disk fragmentation. Above a resolution of ∼40 grid cells per scale height, we find that our simulations converge with respect to the cooling timescale. This result converges in agreement with analytic expectations which place a fragmentation boundary at βcrit = 3.
Physical collisions and close approaches between stars play an important role in the formation of exotic stellar systems. Standard theories suggest that collisions are rare, occurring only via random ...encounters between stars in dense clusters. We present a different formation pathway, the triple evolution dynamical instability (TEDI), in which mass loss in an evolving triple star system causes orbital instability. The subsequent chaotic orbital evolution of the stars triggers close encounters, collisions, exchanges between the stellar components, and the dynamical formation of eccentric compact binaries (including Sirius-like binaries). We demonstrate that the rate of stellar collisions due to the TEDI is approximately 10 super(-4) yr super(-1) per Milky Way Galaxy, which is nearly 30 times higher than the total collision rate due to random encounters in the Galactic globular clusters. Moreover, we find that the dominant type of stellar collision is qualitatively different; most collisions involve asymptotic giant branch stars, rather than main sequence or slightly evolved stars, which dominate collisions in globular clusters. The TEDI mechanism should lead us to revise our understanding of collisions and the formation of compact, eccentric binaries in the field.
Emission from protostars at centimeter radio wavelengths has been shown to trace the free-free emission arising from ionizing shocks as a result of jets and outflows driven by protostars. Therefore, ...measuring properties of protostars at radio frequencies can provide valuable insights into the nature of their outflows and jets. We present a C-band (4.1 and 6.4 cm) survey of all known protostars (Class 0 and Class I) in Perseus as part of the VLA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity (VANDAM) Survey. We examine the known correlations between radio flux density and protostellar parameters, such as bolometric luminosity and outflow force, for our sample. We also investigate the relationship between radio flux density and far-infrared line luminosities from Herschel. We show that free-free emission most likely originates from J-type shocks; however, the large scatter indicates that those two types of emission probe different time and spatial scales. Using C-band fluxes, we removed an estimation of free-free contamination from the corresponding Ka-band (9 mm) flux densities that primarily probe dust emission from embedded disks. We find that the compact (<1″) dust emission is lower for Class I sources (median dust mass 96 M⊕) relative to Class 0 (248 M⊕), but several times higher than in Class II (5-15 M⊕). If this compact dust emission is tracing primarily the embedded disk, as is likely for many sources, this result provides evidence of decreasing disk masses with protostellar evolution, with sufficient mass for forming giant planet cores primarily at early times.
Abstract
The recent characterization of transiting close-in planets has revealed an intriguing population of sub-Neptunes with highly tilted and even polar orbits relative to their host star’s ...equator. Any viable theory for the origin of these close-in, polar planets must explain (1) the observed stellar obliquities, (2) the substantial eccentricities, and (3) the existence of Jovian companions with large mutual inclinations. In this work, we propose a theoretical model that satisfies these requirements without invoking tidal dissipation or large primordial inclinations. Instead, tilting is facilitated by the protoplanetary disk dispersal during the late stage of planet formation, initiating a process of resonance sweeping and parametric instability. This mechanism consists of two steps. First, a nodal secular resonance excites the inclination to large values; then, once the inclination reaches a critical value, a linear eccentric instability is triggered, which detunes the resonance and ends inclination growth. The critical inclination is pushed to high values by general relativistic precession, making polar orbits an inherently post-Newtonian outcome. Our model predicts that polar, close-in sub-Neptunes coexist with cold Jupiters in low stellar obliquity orbits.
Abstract
The presence of a giant planet in a low-viscosity disc can create a gap edge in the disc's radial density profile sharp enough to excite the Rossby wave instability. This instability may ...evolve into dust-trapping vortices that might explain the ‘banana-shaped’ features in recently observed asymmetric transition discs with inner cavities. Previous hydrodynamical simulations of planet-induced vortices have neglected the time-scale of hundreds to thousands of orbits to grow a massive planet to Jupiter size. In this work, we study the effect of a giant planet's runaway growth time-scale on the lifetime and characteristics of the resulting vortex. For two different planet masses (1 and 5 Jupiter masses) and two different disc viscosities (α = 3 × 10−4 and 3 × 10−5), we compare the vortices induced by planets with several different growth time-scales between 10 and 4000 planet orbits. In general, we find that slowly-growing planets create significantly weaker vortices with lifetimes and surface densities reduced by more than 50 per cent. For the higher disc viscosity, the longest growth time-scales in our study inhibit vortex formation altogether. Additionally, slowly-growing planets produce vortices that are up to twice as elongated, with azimuthal extents well above 180° in some cases. These unique, elongated vortices likely create a distinct signature in the dust observations that differentiates them from the more concentrated vortices that correspond to planets with faster growth time-scales. Lastly, we find that the low viscosities necessary for vortex formation likely prevent planets from growing quickly enough to trigger the instability in self-consistent models.
ABSTRACT Low mass, self-gravitating accretion disks admit quasi-steady, "gravito-turbulent" states in which cooling balances turbulent viscous heating. However, numerical simulations show that ...gravito-turbulence cannot be sustained beyond dynamical timescales when the cooling rate or corresponding turbulent viscosity is too large. The result is disk fragmentation. We motivate and quantify an interpretation of disk fragmentation as the inability to maintain gravito-turbulence due to formal secondary instabilities driven by: (1) cooling, which reduces pressure support; and/or (2) viscosity, which reduces rotational support. We analyze the axisymmetric gravitational stability of viscous, non-adiabatic accretion disks with internal heating, external irradiation, and cooling in the shearing box approximation. We consider parameterized cooling functions in 2D and 3D disks, as well as radiative diffusion in 3D. We show that generally there is no critical cooling rate/viscosity below which the disk is formally stable, although interesting limits appear for unstable modes with lengthscales on the order of the disk thickness. We apply this new linear theory to protoplanetary disks subject to gravito-turbulence modeled as an effective viscosity, and cooling regulated by dust opacity. We find that viscosity renders the disk beyond ∼60 au dynamically unstable on radial lengthscales a few times the local disk thickness. This is coincident with the empirical condition for disk fragmentation based on a maximum sustainable stress. We suggest turbulent stresses can play an active role in realistic disk fragmentation by removing rotational stabilization against self-gravity, and that the observed transition in behavior from gravito-turbulent to fragmenting may reflect instability of the gravito-turbulent state itself.