Tracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated Binaries
M35 is a young open cluster and home to an extensive binary population. Using Gaia Data Release 3, Pan-STARRS, and Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry with the Bayesian statistical software, BASE-9, we derive precise cluster parameters, identify single and binary cluster members, and extract their...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad18bf |
| _version_ | 1797323393193738240 |
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| author | Erin Motherway Aaron M. Geller Anna C. Childs Claire Zwicker Ted von Hippel |
| author_facet | Erin Motherway Aaron M. Geller Anna C. Childs Claire Zwicker Ted von Hippel |
| author_sort | Erin Motherway |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | M35 is a young open cluster and home to an extensive binary population. Using Gaia Data Release 3, Pan-STARRS, and Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry with the Bayesian statistical software, BASE-9, we derive precise cluster parameters, identify single and binary cluster members, and extract their masses. We identify 571 binaries down to Gaia G = 20.3 and a lower limit on the binary frequency of f _b = 0.41 ± 0.02. We extend the binary demographics by many magnitudes faint-ward of previous (radial-velocity) studies of this cluster and further away from the cluster center (1.°78, roughly 10 core radii). We find the binary stars to be more centrally concentrated than the single stars in the cluster. Furthermore, we find strong evidence for mass segregation within the binary population itself, with progressively more-massive binary samples becoming more and more centrally concentrated. For the single stars, we find weaker evidence for mass segregation; only the most massive single stars (>2.5 M _⊙ ) appear more centrally concentrated. Given the cluster age of ∼200 Myr, and our derived half-mass relaxation time for the cluster of 230 ± 84 Myr, we estimate ∼47% of the binary stars and ∼12% of single stars in the cluster have had time to become dynamically mass segregated. Importantly, when we investigate only stars with mass segregation timescales greater than the cluster age, we still find the binaries to be more centrally concentrated than the singles, suggesting the binaries may have formed with a primordially different spatial distribution from that of the single stars. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T05:28:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-652d85e0ba894c758d7e80dd74ae2fa0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T05:28:00Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-652d85e0ba894c758d7e80dd74ae2fa02024-02-06T10:02:29ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052024-01-019621L910.3847/2041-8213/ad18bfTracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated BinariesErin Motherway0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9841-0846Aaron M. Geller1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3881-9332Anna C. Childs2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9343-8612Claire Zwicker3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3695-2655Ted von Hippel4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5775-2866Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University , Department of Physical Sciences, 1 Aerospace Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USACenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USACenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University , 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USAIllinois Institute of Technology , 10 West 35th Street Chicago, IL 60616, USAEmbry-Riddle Aeronautical University , Department of Physical Sciences, 1 Aerospace Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USAM35 is a young open cluster and home to an extensive binary population. Using Gaia Data Release 3, Pan-STARRS, and Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry with the Bayesian statistical software, BASE-9, we derive precise cluster parameters, identify single and binary cluster members, and extract their masses. We identify 571 binaries down to Gaia G = 20.3 and a lower limit on the binary frequency of f _b = 0.41 ± 0.02. We extend the binary demographics by many magnitudes faint-ward of previous (radial-velocity) studies of this cluster and further away from the cluster center (1.°78, roughly 10 core radii). We find the binary stars to be more centrally concentrated than the single stars in the cluster. Furthermore, we find strong evidence for mass segregation within the binary population itself, with progressively more-massive binary samples becoming more and more centrally concentrated. For the single stars, we find weaker evidence for mass segregation; only the most massive single stars (>2.5 M _⊙ ) appear more centrally concentrated. Given the cluster age of ∼200 Myr, and our derived half-mass relaxation time for the cluster of 230 ± 84 Myr, we estimate ∼47% of the binary stars and ∼12% of single stars in the cluster have had time to become dynamically mass segregated. Importantly, when we investigate only stars with mass segregation timescales greater than the cluster age, we still find the binaries to be more centrally concentrated than the singles, suggesting the binaries may have formed with a primordially different spatial distribution from that of the single stars.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad18bfBinary starsOpen star clustersRelaxation timeBayesian statisticsStar formation |
| spellingShingle | Erin Motherway Aaron M. Geller Anna C. Childs Claire Zwicker Ted von Hippel Tracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated Binaries The Astrophysical Journal Letters Binary stars Open star clusters Relaxation time Bayesian statistics Star formation |
| title | Tracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated Binaries |
| title_full | Tracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated Binaries |
| title_fullStr | Tracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated Binaries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated Binaries |
| title_short | Tracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated Binaries |
| title_sort | tracing the origins of mass segregation in m35 evidence for primordially segregated binaries |
| topic | Binary stars Open star clusters Relaxation time Bayesian statistics Star formation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad18bf |
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