10,000 Resolved Triples from Gaia: Empirical Constraints on Triple Star Populations
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866918134691135488 |
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| author | Shariat, Cheyanne El-Badry, Kareem Naoz, Smadar |
| author_facet | Shariat, Cheyanne El-Badry, Kareem Naoz, Smadar |
| contents | We present a catalog of $\sim 10,000$ resolved triple star systems within 500 pc of the Sun, constructed using Gaia data. The triples include main-sequence, red giant, and white dwarf components spanning separations of 10 to 50,000 au. A well-characterized selection function allows us to constrain intrinsic demographics of the triple star population. We find that (a) all systems are compatible with being hierarchical and dynamically stable; (b) mutual orbital inclinations are isotropic for wide triples but show modest alignment as the systems become more compact; (c) primary masses follow a Kroupa initial mass function weighted by the triple fraction; (d) inner binary orbital periods, eccentricities, and mass ratios mirror those of isolated binaries, including a pronounced twin excess (mass ratios greater than 0.95) out to separations of 1000+ au, suggesting a common formation pathway; (e) tertiary mass ratios follow a power-law distribution with slope $-1.4$; (f) tertiary orbits are consistent with a log-normal period distribution and thermal eccentricities, subject to dynamical stability. Informed by these observations, we develop a publicly available prescription for generating mock triple star populations. Finally, we estimate the catalog's completeness and infer the intrinsic triple fraction, which rises steadily with primary mass: from $5\%$ at $\lesssim 0.5\,{\rm M_\odot}$ to $35\%$ at $2\,{\rm M_\odot}$. The public catalog provides a robust testbed for models of triple star formation and evolution. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_16513 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | 10,000 Resolved Triples from Gaia: Empirical Constraints on Triple Star Populations Shariat, Cheyanne El-Badry, Kareem Naoz, Smadar Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies We present a catalog of $\sim 10,000$ resolved triple star systems within 500 pc of the Sun, constructed using Gaia data. The triples include main-sequence, red giant, and white dwarf components spanning separations of 10 to 50,000 au. A well-characterized selection function allows us to constrain intrinsic demographics of the triple star population. We find that (a) all systems are compatible with being hierarchical and dynamically stable; (b) mutual orbital inclinations are isotropic for wide triples but show modest alignment as the systems become more compact; (c) primary masses follow a Kroupa initial mass function weighted by the triple fraction; (d) inner binary orbital periods, eccentricities, and mass ratios mirror those of isolated binaries, including a pronounced twin excess (mass ratios greater than 0.95) out to separations of 1000+ au, suggesting a common formation pathway; (e) tertiary mass ratios follow a power-law distribution with slope $-1.4$; (f) tertiary orbits are consistent with a log-normal period distribution and thermal eccentricities, subject to dynamical stability. Informed by these observations, we develop a publicly available prescription for generating mock triple star populations. Finally, we estimate the catalog's completeness and infer the intrinsic triple fraction, which rises steadily with primary mass: from $5\%$ at $\lesssim 0.5\,{\rm M_\odot}$ to $35\%$ at $2\,{\rm M_\odot}$. The public catalog provides a robust testbed for models of triple star formation and evolution. |
| title | 10,000 Resolved Triples from Gaia: Empirical Constraints on Triple Star Populations |
| topic | Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.16513 |