Related papers: An Analytical, Statistical Approximate Solution fo…
We present a rapid binary evolution algorithm that enables modelling of even the most complex binary systems. In addition to all aspects of single star evolution, features such as mass transfer, mass accretion, common-envelope evolution,…
We consider the evolution of supermassive black hole binaries at the center of spherical, axisymmetric, and triaxial galaxies, using direct N-body integrations as well as analytic estimates. We find that the rates of binary hardening…
We present equations governing the way in which both the orbit and the intrinsic spins of stars in a close binary should evolve subject to a number of perturbing forces, including the effect of a third body in a possibly inclined wider…
Space-based photometry has substantially increased the number of pulsating stars found in binary systems by more than four orders of magnitude. Combined with high-resolution spectroscopy, high-precision photometry offers model-independent…
The free fall of three particles under Newtonian attraction allows to illustrate some of the complexities of the general three body problem. The total collapse or singularity that occurs when starting from one of the five central…
The three-body problem is famously chaotic, with no closed-form analytical solutions. However, hierarchical systems of three or more bodies can be stable over indefinite timescales. A system is considered hierarchical if the bodies can be…
In the last years several exoplanets have been discovered that orbit one component of a compact binary system (separation < 50 astronomical units), the probably best-known case is gamma-Cephei. So far, all attempts to explain the in-situ…
We investigate statistics of the decay process in the equal-mass three-body problem with randomized initial conditions. Contrary to earlier expectations of similarity with "radioactive decay", the lifetime distributions obtained in our…
Planet--Planet scattering is an efficient and robust dynamical mechanism for producing eccentric exoplanets. Coupled to tidal interactions with the central star, it can also explain close--in giant planets on circularized and potentially…
One of the fundamental aspects of statistical behaviour in many-body systems is exponential divergence of neighbouring orbits, which is often discussed in terms of Liapounov exponents. Here we study this topic for the classical…
We study the capture of light objects of arbitrary velocity by binary systems. Extending results for the capture of comets in the solar system, we develop a simple geometric characterization of the capture cross section, leading directly to…
The majority of binary stars do not eclipse. Current searches for transiting circumbinary planets concentrate on eclipsing binaries, and are therefore restricted to a small fraction of potential hosts. We investigate the concept of finding…
HD 141569, a triple star system, has been intensively observed and studied for its massive debris disk. It was rather regarded as a gravitationally bound triple system but recent measurements of the HD 141569A radial velocity seem to…
A symplectic integrator algorithm suitable for hierarchical triple systems is formulated and tested. The positions of the stars are followed in hierarchical Jacobi coordinates, whilst the planets are referenced purely to their primary. The…
Short-period binary star systems dissipate orbital energy through tidal interactions that lead to tighter, more circular orbits. When at least one star in a binary has evolved off of the main sequence, orbital circularization occurs for…
Many exoplanets are discovered in binary star systems in internal or in circumbinary orbits. Whether the planet can be habitable or not depends on the possibility to maintain liquid water on its surface, and therefore on the luminosity of…
Binary-star exoplanetary systems are now known to be common, for both wide and close binaries. However, their orbital evolution is generally unsolvable. Special cases of the N-body problem which are in fact completely solvable include…
We study the long-term evolution of massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) at the centers of galaxies using detailed scattering experiments to solve the full three-body problem. Ambient stars drawn from a isotropic Maxwellian distribution…
A self-consistent model for binary evolution devised by Gingold \& Monaghan (1980) is used to show that two distinctly different types of behaviour are possible for close eccentric binaries. The model is based on a linear adiabatic normal…
Context: Numerous theoretical studies of the stellar dynamics of triple systems have been carried out, but fewer purely empirical studies that have addressed planetary orbits within these systems. Most of these empirical studies have been…