Statistical Study of Visual Binaries

TL;DR

This study analyzes the statistical properties of visual binary star systems, revealing exponential distributions in magnitude differences and linear separations, and a mass ratio distribution centered around 0.7, challenging previous findings.

Contribution

It provides new statistical insights into the distributions of parameters of visual binaries, including magnitude difference, mass ratio, and separation, based on data from the Double Star Catalogue.

Findings

Magnitude difference follows an exponential distribution.

Mass ratios are concentrated around 0.7, consistent with Salpeter's function.

Linear separation distribution is exponential, contradicting previous studies.

Abstract

In this paper, some statistical distributions of wide pairs included in Double Star Catalogue are investigated. Frequency distributions and testing hypothesis are derived for some basic parameters of visual binaries. The results reached indicate that, it was found that the magnitude difference is distributed exponentially, which means that the majority of the component of the selected systems is of the same spectral type. The distribution of the mass ratios is concentrated about 0.7 which agree with Salpeter mass function. The distribution of the linear separation appears to be exponentially, which contradict with previous studies for close binaries.