Criteria for the stability of triple systems and their application to observations of multiple stars

Criteria for stability of triple systems are studied and compared with the results of numerical simulations obtained for model triple systems and observed multiple stars. The results for the stability analyses using two new criteria-those of Aarseth and of Valtonen et al.-agree with the simulation results in 98% of cases. Thus, these criteria can be used to analyze the stability of systems for which direct modeling of their dynamical evolution is difficult (for example, because not all orbital parameters for their subsystems are known). The last published version of the "Multiple-Star Catalog" of Tokovinin is analyzed to search for systems that may be unstable according to the two new criteria. More detailed studies are carried out for the HD 284419 (T Tau) system. The parameters of the apparent motion method is used to obtain new orbital solutions for this system. The regions of dynamical stability of the system as functions of the orbital parameters are estimated. It is not possible to determine a unique solution for the orbit with the available data; for periods shorter than 300 yr and longer than 5500 yr, the probability of decay of the system on time scales less than 107 yr is high. This conclusion is supported by the application of the stability criteria, as well as direct modeling of the system's dynamical evolution. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2010

An old nearby quadruple system Gliese 225.2

We discovered a new component E in the nearby multiple system Gliese 225.2, making it quadruple. We derive a preliminary 24-yr astrometric orbit of this new sub-system C,E and a slightly improved orbit of the 68-yr pair A,B. The orientations of the A,B and C,E orbits indicate that they may be close to coplanarity. The orbit of AB,CE is rather wide and does not allow to determine its curvature reliably. Thus, the 390 yr orbit computed by Baize (1980, Inf. Circ. IAU Comm., 26(80)) was premature. The infrared colors and magnitudes of components A, B, and C match standard values for dwarfs of spectral types K5V, M0V, and K4V, respectively. The new component E, 3 magnitudes below the Main Sequence, has an anomalously blue color index. We estimate its mass as roughly 0.2 solar from the astrometric orbit, although there remains some inconsistency in the data hinting on a higher mass or on the existence of additional components in the system. Large space velocities indicate that Gliese 225.2 belongs to the thick Galactic disk and is not young. This quadruple system survived for a long time and should be dynamically stable. © ESO 2005

Gliese 225.2: An old (stable?) quadruplet

We discovered with adaptive optics a new component E in the nearby multiple system Gliese 225.2, making it quadruple. We derive a preliminary 24-yr astrometric orbit of this new sub-system C,E and a slightly improved orbit of the 68-yr pair A,B. The orientations of the A,B and C,E orbits indicate that they may be close to coplanarity. The 390-yr orbit of AB,CE computed by Baize (1980) was premature, the period is much longer. Large space velocities indicate that Gliese 225.2 belongs to the thick galactic disk and is not young. This quadruple system survived for a long time and should be dynamically stable. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Physical parameters and dynamical properties of the multiple system ι UMa (ADS 7114)

We analyze the physical parameters, orbital elements, and dynamic stability of the multiple system ι UMa (HD 76644 = ADS 7114). We have used the positions from the WDS catalog and our own observations on the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish Telescope (Antalya, Turkey). We have obtained more precise orbital parameters of the subsystems, and spectral types, absolute magnitudes, and masses of the components. The primary has Sp = F0 V-IV, M = 1.7 ± 0.1M ⊙, T eff = 7260 ± 70 K, and log g = 4.30 ± 0.07. The companion in the close Aa subsystem is most likely a white dwarf with a mass of approximately 1.0 ± 0. 3M ⊙. The spectral types and masses of the components in the BC subsystem are M3V, M4V and 0.35 ± 0.05M ⊙, 0.30 ± 0.05M ⊙, respectively. The total mass is 3.4 ± 0.4M ⊙. The Aa subsystem probably has an orbital period of 4470 d = 12.2 y and an eccentricity of approximately 0.6. The outer subsystem seems to have a period of approximately 2084 yrs and an eccentricity of approximately 0.9. We have carried out simulations using the stability criteria and shown that for all possible variations in the component parameters, the multiple system is unstable on a time scale of less than 10 6 years with a probability exceeding 0.98. Possible reasons for this instability are discussed. © 2012 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

The multiple system ADS 9626: A quadruple star or an encounter of two binaries?

© 2014, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. The parameters of the quadruple system ADS 9626 (µ Boo) are analyzed. The system consists of two double stars: the Aa pair with an angular separation of ρ = 0.08″ and the BC pair with an angular separation of ρ = 2.2″, separated by ρ = 107″ and having the same parallaxes and proper motions. Position observations with the Pulkovo 26″ refractor have yielded from direct astrometric measurements the difference in the apparent magnitudes and the component-mass ratio for the BC subsystem: Δm = 0.59 ± 0.06, M(B)/M(C) = 1.18 ± 0.02. Spectroscopy with the Russian-Turkish 1.5-m telescope has yielded the radial velocities and physical parameters of the Aa, B, and C components. Speckle-interferometric observations with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory have provided the first measurements of the magnitude difference in the close Aa subsystem: Δm = 0.46 ± 0.03 (λ = 5500 Å) and Δm = 0.41 ± 0.03 (λ = 8000 Å). The new observations are consistent with the known orbits, which were used to find the radial velocities for the centers of mass of the inner subsystems. Themotion of the outer pair, Aa-BC, is studied using the apparent motion parameters (AMP) method. It is not possible to derive an elliptical orbit for this pair; the elements of a hyperbolic orbit have been estimated. The difference of the heavy-element abundances for the Aa and BC subsystems of 0.5 dex confirms that these pairs have a different origin. This suggests that we are observing here a close encounter of two binary stars

Physical parameters and dynamical properties of the multiple star o and

An analysis of the physical characteristics, orbital parameters, and dynamical stability of the multiple Be star HD 217675 (o And) is presented. Observations on the 6-m SAO and 1.5-m RTT telescopes are used to refine the orbital parameters of the subsystems. The spectral types, absolute magnitudes, and masses of the components are estimated. The total mass of the system is 18 ± 2 M⊙. It is shown that the configuration of the system is 2 + 2, where one of the subsystems is a spectral binary with a period of 33 d and the outer pair has a period of 117 yr. The parameters of the second inner subsystem are uncertain, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the stability of this multiple star. © 2010 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

Speckle observations with PISCO in Merate - V. Astrometric measurements of visual binaries in 2006

International audienceWe present relative astrometric measurements of visual binaries made during the first semester of 2006, with the Pupil Interferometry Speckle camera and COronagraph at the 102-cm Zeiss telescope of the Brera Astronomical Observatory, in Merate. Our sample contains orbital couples as well as binaries whose motion is still uncertain. We obtained 217 new measurements of 194 objects, with angular separations in the range 0.1-4.2arcsec, and an average accuracy of 0.01arcsec. The mean error on the position angles is 0.5°. About half of those angles could be determined without the usual 180° ambiguity by the application of triple-correlation techniques. We also present a revised orbit for ADS 277 for which the previously published orbit resulted in a large residual from our measurements

Criteria for the stability of triple systems and their application to observations of multiple stars

Criteria for stability of triple systems are studied and compared with the results of numerical simulations obtained for model triple systems and observed multiple stars. The results for the stability analyses using two new criteria-those of Aarseth and of Valtonen et al.-agree with the simulation results in 98% of cases. Thus, these criteria can be used to analyze the stability of systems for which direct modeling of their dynamical evolution is difficult (for example, because not all orbital parameters for their subsystems are known). The last published version of the "Multiple-Star Catalog" of Tokovinin is analyzed to search for systems that may be unstable according to the two new criteria. More detailed studies are carried out for the HD 284419 (T Tau) system. The parameters of the apparent motion method is used to obtain new orbital solutions for this system. The regions of dynamical stability of the system as functions of the orbital parameters are estimated. It is not possible to determine a unique solution for the orbit with the available data; for periods shorter than 300 yr and longer than 5500 yr, the probability of decay of the system on time scales less than 107 yr is high. This conclusion is supported by the application of the stability criteria, as well as direct modeling of the system's dynamical evolution. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2010

Photocentric orbits from a direct combination of ground-based astrometry with Hipparcos

Complementing the Proper Motions of Fundamental Stars catalogue by Gontcharov et al. (CDS, I–266) the photocentric orbits of some FK5/Hipparcos stars are calculated in a direct combination of the Hipparcos data with astrometric ground-based observational catalogues having epochs later than 1939. Some capabilities and limitations of this method are discussed in a comparison of our results with known orbits of Sirius, Procyon, Rasalhague, μ Cas and others. We conclude that this direct combination is an acceptable tool to discover and investigate photocentric orbits with periods from 10 to 55 years and the semi-major axis of apparent ellipses >0.08 arcsec. It is particularly suitable for pairs with large magnitude difference as well as for calculation of the preliminary orbits of new astrometric binaries which will be considered in forthcoming papers. In this paper new photocentric orbits and component masses are calculated for 4 pairs: α UMa, β LMi, δ And and ξ Aqr