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The Mass–Ratio Distribution of Short–Period Binaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

T. Mazeh
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
D. Goldberg
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel

Abstract

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We present a new algorithm to derive the mass-ratio distribution of an observed sample of spectroscopic binaries. The algorithm replaces each binary of unknown inclination by an ensemble of virtual systems with a distribution of inclinations. We show that contrary to a widely held assumption the orientations of each virtual ensemble should not be distributed randomly in space. A few iterations are needed to find the true mass-ratio distribution. Numerical simulations clearly demonstrate the advantage of the new algorithm over the classical method. We have applied the new algorithm to the recent large sample of G-dwarf spectroscopic binaries, and got a uniform or perhaps a slightly rising linear mass-ratio distribution. This result suggests that the mass-ratio distributions of short-period and long-period binaries are substantially different. It also indicates that the mass distribution of the secondary stars is not the same as that of the single stars.

Type
Spectroscopic Studies
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1992

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