Third body perturbations of double stars

Author(s)
Rudolf Dvorak
Abstract

We report on the different results concerning the stability of the hierarchical triple systems where a close binary is accompanied by a third star. There are different possible approaches to answer the question of the stability limits for such triple stars: the most direct investigations can be undertaken in integrating numerically the respective equations of motion for many different initial conditions. It is then difficult to take into account all the important parameters like eccentricities, inclination, phases and masses. Analytical approaches and qualitative methods are more approriate to deal with this problem; the respective results confirm the numerically found results that: 1. for prograde orbits the ratio semimajor axis of the inner orbits to the periastron position of the outer orbit is approximately 3.2 2. for retrograde orbits this ratio is just some 10 percents smaller 3. the results are not sensitive in what concerns the masses involved 4. There is a tendency that the inclinations and eccentricities change slightly the stability limits mentioned above.

Organisation(s)
Department of Astrophysics
Journal
Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy: an international journal of space dynamics
Volume
68
Pages
63-73
No. of pages
11
ISSN
0923-2958
Publication date
1997
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103003 Astronomy
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/816f5af8-ba22-4089-b1f1-8dbdb24fd088