Orbital Motion of Young Binaries in Ophiuchus and Upper Centaurus-Lupus

TL;DR

This study uses adaptive optics imaging to measure the orbital parameters of young binary and triple star systems in specific star-forming regions, aiding in understanding their mass distribution and orbital characteristics.

Contribution

First-time measurements of orbital positions and flux ratios for multiple young binary systems, including new companion detections, and analysis of their orbital solutions.

Findings

Detection of new visual companions in MML 50 and MML 53.

Second orbital positions for six systems after a decade.

Analysis of orbital solutions for systems with sufficient data.

Abstract

We present measurements of the orbital positions and flux ratios of 17 binary and triple systems in the Ophiuchus star forming region and the Upper Centaurus-Lupus cluster based on adaptive optics imaging at the Keck Observatory. We report the detection of visual companions in MML 50 and MML 53 for the first time, as well as the possible detection of a third component in WSB 21. For six systems in our sample, our measurements provide a second orbital position following their initial discoveries over a decade ago. For eight systems with sufficient orbital coverage, we analyze the range of orbital solutions that fit the data. Ultimately, these observations will help provide the groundwork toward measuring precise masses for these pre-main sequence stars and understanding the distribution of orbital parameters in young multiple systems.