Relativistic Effects on Circumbinary Orbit Stability

TL;DR

This study uses simulations and analytic methods to explore how general relativity influences the stability of particles orbiting binary systems, especially near supermassive black holes.

Contribution

It identifies how GR-driven precession affects particle stability and delineates three regions of instability based on initial conditions.

Findings

GR causes instability close to the binary orbit up to 8 times the binary semimajor axis.

Three distinct instability regions are identified in the phase space.

Results are relevant for understanding circumbinary disks around supermassive black holes.

Abstract

With n-body simulations and analytic approximations we study the dynamics and stability of low eccentricity misaligned test particles around binary systems with varying mass fraction and eccentricity. General relativity (GR) plays a primary role in determining the motion of an outer particle since it drives apsidal precession of the binary orbit. The effects of GR can drive particle instability close to the binary orbit, depending upon the binary parameters and the initial inclination of the particle. For the binary parameters we consider, we find instability up to a semimajor axis of about 8 ab, where ab is the binary semimajor axis. In particular, we identify and analyse three different regions of instability that are driven by GR in the phase plane of the initial semimajor axis and the initial inclination of the particle. The results have implications for circumbinary orbits and circumbinary disks on all scales, but are particularly important around supermassive black hole binaries where the effects of GR can be strong.