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The Decay of Accreting Triple Systems as Brown Dwarf Formation Scenario

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Stefan Umbreit1, Andreas Burkert2, Thomas Henning1, Seppo Mikkola3 and Rainer Spurzem4

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We investigate the dynamical decay of nonhierarchical accreting triple systems and its implications on the ejection model as a brown dwarf formation scenario. A modified chain-regularization scheme is used to integrate the equations of motion that also allows for mass changes over time as well as for momentum transfer from the accreted gas mass onto the bodies. We integrate an ensemble of triple systems within a certain volume with different accretion rates, assuming several prescriptions of how momentum is transferred onto the bodies. We follow their evolution until the systems have decayed. We analyze the end states and decay times of these systems and determine the fraction of brown dwarfs formed and their escape speeds, as well as the semimajor axis distribution of the formed brown dwarf binaries. We find that the formation probability of brown dwarfs depends strongly on the assumed momentum transfer, which is related to the motion of the gas. Because of ongoing accretion and consequent shrinkage of the systems, the median escape velocity is increased by a factor of 2, and the binary separations are decreased by a factor of 5 compared with nonaccreting systems. Furthermore, the obtained semimajor axis distribution drops off sharply to either side of the median, which is also supported by observations. We conclude that accretion and momentum transfer of accreted gas during the dynamical decay of triple systems is able to produce the observed distribution of close binary brown dwarfs, making the ejection model a viable option as brown dwarf formation scenario.


Subject headings

binaries: close; methods: N-body simulations; stars: formation; stars: low-mass, brown dwarfs; stellar dynamics


Dates

Issue 2 (2005 April 20)

Received 2004 June 9, accepted for publication 2005 January 4



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