High-angular resolution observations were acquired for a sample of F-G and K nearby orbital binaries, making use of the ADONIS instrument mounted at the 3.6m ESO telescope from La Silla observatory. The aim is to derive broad-band near-infrared colours for the individual components of those binaries which do not fit well the mean mass-luminosity relation, but which have accurate parallaxes (from the Hipparcos satellite) and high-quality orbits, thanks to many previous efforts. Such colour determinations allow component temperatures and photometric mass ratios to be derived.

We have constructed volume-limited samples of wide binaries in the Hipparcos Catalogue Double and Multiple Systems Annex (DMSA, Section C), out to distances of 100 pc and 200 pc. We study the distribution of linear separations for these samples of binaries. We find that they closely follow Öpik’s distribution in the interval of separations between about 10 and 800 AU (for the 100 pc sample), and between 15 and 1400 AU (for the 200 pc sample)

HR 6046 has long been known as a single-lined binary with a late-K-giant primary star. The long period of just over six years and the large mass function led to several, so far unsuccessful, attempts to resolve the system interferometrically. However, we have detected the secondary spectroscopically, and present here the spectroscopic orbital elements. The secondary is nearly as massive as the primary, despite being much fainter. Comparison with late-type standard spectra suggests that it is also an evolved star.

Advances in instrumentation and reduction methods are blurring the historical distinctions between various classes of double stars. One result of this is increasing confusion in double star nomenclature, as the conventions followed by different observers are sometimes incompatible. The Washington Multiplicity Catalog is presented as a means of developing a single nomenclature scheme for all types of doubles, as well as a comprehensive database for all duplicity information.

Using high-resolution (~ 01), multi-epoch Very Large Array observations, we have detected orbital motions in several low-luminosity protobinary systems in the Taurus and ρ Ophiuchus molecular complexes. The masses obtained from Kepler’s third law are of the order of 0.5 to 2 M⊙, as expected for such low-mass protostars. The relatively large bolometric luminosities of these young systems corroborates the notion that protostars obtain most of their luminosity from accretion and not from nuclear reactions. In addition, in one of the sources studied (a multiple system in Taurus), a low-mass young star has shown a drastic change in its orbit after a close approach with another component of the system, presumed to be a double star. The large proper motion achieved by this low mass protostar (20 km s−1), suggests an ejection from the system.

We show high-angular resolution results from VLA observations of the sources SVS 13, NGC 1333 VLA 2, and L723 VLA 2. Our results suggest that these sources are very young close (25-75 AU separation) binary systems and that the development of disks and jets can proceed in a different way for each component of the binary system.

We report on the results of a binary survey in the outer parts of the Orion Nebula Cluster, 0.7 to 2 pc from the cluster center. The results should help to decide if the binary formation rate was lower in Orion than in Taurus-Auriga, or if many binaries formed initially, but were destroyed in close stellar encounters. We find that the binary frequency of low-mass stars does not depend on the distance to the cluster center. The companion star frequency of intermediate- to high-mass stars shows a trend to decrease with cluster radius, but the statistical significance of this trend is rather weak.

We describe the use of eclipsing binaries to derive fundamental properties of the binary star components in a cluster. The method requires the use of reliable isochrones and accurate properties of stars that lie along them.

The light curves for three eclipsing binaries in the Magellanic Clouds have been obtained using CCD uVJIC photometry. One target in the LMC, MACHO*05:36:48.7−69:17:00, is an eccentric system, e = 0.20, with a period of 3.853534 ± 0.000005 d. Initial solutions indicate a primary component in the range Teff,1 = 20,000−35,000K and the secondary Teff,2 1000−2000K cooler than the primary, with inclinations ranging i = 84.2° − 86.0°. Two targets in the SMC, MOA J005018.4-723855 and MOA J005623.5−722123, have periods of 1.8399±0.0004 and 2.3199 ± 0.0003 days respectively. Both have circular orbits with the former being a semi-detached system.

Quite recently, a significant number of OB stars far from the galactic plane have been found, situated at z- distances ranging from several hundreds of pc to several kpc. The short lifetimes of these stars pose problems for their interpretation in terms of the standard picture of star formation. Different mechanisms have been put forward to explain the existence of these stars, either within the conventional view, or postulating star formation in the galactic halo itself. These mechanisms range from arguing that they are misidentified evolved or abnormal stars, to postulating powerful ejection mechanisms for young disk stars; in situ formation also admits several variants. We have collected from the literature a list of young stars far from the plane, for which the evidence of youth seems convincing. We discuss two possible formation mechanisms for these stars: ejection from the plane as the result of dynamical evolution of small clusters (Poveda et al. 1967) and in situ formation, via induced shocks created by spiral density waves (Martos et al. 1999). We compute galactic orbits for these stars, and identify the stars that could be explained by one or the other mechanism. We find that about 90 percent of the stars can be accounted for by the cluster ejection mechanism, that is, they can be regarded as runaway stars in the galactic halo.

High-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) represent an important phase in the evolution of massive binary systems and provide fundamental information on the properties of the OB-star primaries and their compact secondaries (neutron star, black hole). Recent observations indicate that the neutron stars in some of these systems (Vela X-1, 4U 1700-37) are more massive than the canonical mass of 1.35 M⊙. These observations have important consequences for the equation of state at supranuclear densities and the formation mechanism(s) of neutron stars and black holes: supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. As a consequence of the supernova explosion that produced the compact star in these systems, HMXBs have high space velocities and thus are runaways. Alternatively, OB-runaway stars can be ejected from a cluster through dynamical interactions. Observations obtained with the Hipparcos satellite indicate that both scenarios are at work.

Fe II fluorescence by PAR has been investigated in eight symbiotic stars having a wide range in temperature of the hot component and orbital period. The data used are spectra obtained from the IUE archive. All pumping lines investigated in this work are in the short wavelength region of IUE (1200-2000 Å), except for He ɪɪ λ1084.942 and O VI λ1032.041. The resulting Fe ɪɪ fluorescence lines are mainly in the long wavelength region (2000-3300 Å), but a few fall in the same region as the pumping lines. The aim is to understand the optimal conditions for formation of Fe ɪɪ fluorescence lines caused by PAR. Three of the selected systems, RR Tel, AG Peg and V1016 Cyg, have 10-30 active Fe ɪɪ channels. Two conditions connect those systems to each other: The hot component is a white dwarf of extreme temperature (80·103-150·103 K) and all three systems are so called symbiotic novae and have had outbursts during the last 150 years. Three systems, AG Dra, RW Hya and R Aqr, have only 2-3 active Fe ɪɪ channels. In the two remaining systems, CI Cyg and T CrB, Fe ɪɪ fluorescence lines were totally absent. These two systems have two features in common: The emission strength of highly ionized elements is less than in most symbiotic systems, and the hot component is suspected to be an accreting main sequence star rather than a white dwarf.

Using high angular resolution (~ 03) Very Large Array (VLA) observations made at 3.6 cm during the period 1990 to 2002, we report the detection of proper motions in the components of the binary source YLW 15. We find absolute proper motions of the order of 15 km s-1. In addition, the relative astrometry between the two components reveals orbital proper motions that suggest that the total mass of this binary system is ~ 1.7 M⊙, and that VLA 1 is more massive than VLA 2.

We present the first results of our adaptive optics survey of 200 (mainly) A-type stars in the nearby OB association Sco OB2, which we will use, together with literature data and detailed simulations of young star clusters, to determine the primordial binary population.

This is a report on an ongoing program about binaries in southern open clusters. The long-term purpose of this project is to contribute to understanding the formation and evolution of spectroscopic binaries, providing observational constraints that will permit tests of some of the current theories on binary formation in open clusters.

We study the kinematic of the molecular gas using observations of the rotational line 12CO(J=1→0), and also the star formation traced by Ultra-Compact HII regions in the IV galactic quadrant (270° ≤ l ≤ 360°). Our results show that there is a connection between 1) high-mass star formation in the spiral arms of the Milky Way, 2) molecular gas of high column density, and 3) the large-scale rigid-body-like motion of the gas. The large-scale rigid-body-like motions observed in the arms imply that there is less angular momentum to dissipate in the formation processes of stellar systems. We show a multiple stellar system under study, embedded in its parent molecular cloud in the Carina arm region.

Three-body processes go on in star clusters where binary stars meet single stars and frequently form temporary triple systems. The triples are typically unstable and break up into a new binary and a single star. Also a simple scattering of a single star from a binary may take place. Both processes can be handled by the statistical theories of three-body break-up and scattering. Here we apply the theory to binary stars, assuming that binaries have been involved in the three-body process. The distributions of binary periods, eccentricities and mass ratios are discussed from this point of view and compared with observational samples.

The restricted three body problem is well-known and very important for the dynamics of binary and multiple stars and also planetary systems. We extend the classical version of this problem to the situation that there are some external forces from the belt. We find that both the equilibrium points and solution curves become quite different from the classical case. We also determine the values of Lyapunov exponent for some important orbits.

Initial distributions of primordial binaries used in realistic N-body simulations give rise to bound subsystems of different multiplicity. An examination of the formation process shows that the most compact triples arise via binary-binary collisions, whereas higher-order systems have diverse origins. Low formation rates are compensated by long life-times, leading to a significant population building up. Being fairly energetic, the outer orbit tends to shrink by further encounters. In addition, external perturbations also modify the eccentricity and may create conditions for instability. Onecharacteristic outcome is internal disruption by the sling-shot mechanism. Such interactions are often sufficiently energetic to produce high-velocityescapers and it is not uncommon for triples and quadruples to be ejected. For high inclinations, the eccentricity growth induced by the Kozai effect may lead to significant shrinkage of the inner binary orbit by tidal circularization. If some of the components were spit into a dynamically inactive ultra-hard binary, the hierarchies would be attributed an even higher multiplicity. One implication of these results is that a proportion of multiple systems observed in the field may have been formed in a dynamical environment.

We have reexamined accretion in a protobinary system with two dimensional numerical simulations. We consider protostars which rotate around the center of the mass with circular orbits. The accreting gas is assumed to flow in the orbital plane. It is injected from a circle whose radius is 5 times larger than the orbital separation of the binary. The injected gas has constant surface density, in fall velocity, and specific angular momentum. The accretion depends on the specific angular momentum of the injected gas, jinf. When jinf is small, the binary accretes the gas mainly through two channels: one through the Lagrangian point L2 and the other through L3. When jinf is large, the binary accretes the gas only through the L2 point. The primary accretes more than the secondary in both cases, although the L2 point is closer to the secondary. After flowing through the L2 point, the gas flows half around the secondary and through the L1 point to the primary. Only a small amount of gas flows back to the secondary and the rest forms a circumstellar ring around the primary. The accretion decreases the mass ratio, q = M2/M1, where M1 and M2 denote the masses of the primary and secondary, respectively. The accretion rate increases with time. When jinf is large, it is negligibly small in the first few rotation periods.