On the Jacobi capture origin of binaries with applications to the Earth-Moon system and black holes in galactic nuclei

TL;DR

This paper investigates Jacobi captures as a mechanism for binary formation in astrophysical systems, demonstrating their relevance in the Earth-Moon system and black hole binaries in galactic nuclei through simulations and theoretical analysis.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of Jacobi capture as a universal process for binary formation, supported by detailed phase space analysis and applications to lunar and black hole systems.

Findings

Jacobi capture phase space has a fractal structure with dimension ~0.4.

Impact speeds follow a parabolic distribution, impact angles are uniformly distributed.

Jacobi captures can lead to tidal captures, giant impacts, and binary black holes.

Abstract

Close encounters between two bodies in a disc often result in a single orbital deflection. However, within their Jacobi volumes, where the gravitational forces between the two bodies and the central body become competitive, temporary captures with multiple close encounters become possible outcomes: a Jacobi capture. We perform 3-body simulations in order to characterise the dynamics of Jacobi captures in the plane. We find that the phase space structure resembles a Cantor-like set with a fractal dimension of about 0.4. The lifetime distribution decreases exponentially, while the distribution of the closest separation follows a power law with index 0.5. In our first application, we consider the Jacobi capture of the Moon. We demonstrate that both tidal captures and giant impacts are possible outcomes. The impact speed is well approximated by a parabolic encounter, while the impact angles follow that of a uniform beam on a circular target. Jacobi captures at larger heliocentric distances are more likely to result in tidal captures. In our second application, we find that Jacobi captures with gravitational wave dissipation can result in the formation of binary black holes in galactic nuclei. The eccentricity distribution is approximately super-thermal and includes both prograde and retrograde orientations. We conclude that dissipative Jacobi captures form an efficient channel for binary formation, which motivates further research into establishing the universality of Jacobi captures across multiple astrophysical scales.