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The Mass–Ratio Distribution of Short–Period Binaries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Abstract
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.
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- Spectroscopic Studies
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- Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1992
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