Orbital Contraction of Post-Common-Envelope Binaries with a Circumbinary Disk

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Autori principali: Karino, Shigeyuki, Nakamura, Kenji
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Karino, Shigeyuki
Nakamura, Kenji
author_facet Karino, Shigeyuki
Nakamura, Kenji
contents Tight and compact binary systems, such as double neutron star binaries, are believed to undergo a common envelope evolution phase, resulting in strongly bound orbits. During this phase, the outer layers of the primary star are expelled, resulting in orbital shrinkage. However, a part of the expelled material may remain as a circumbinary disk, which can further influence subsequent orbital evolution. In this study, we investigated orbital evolution in the presence of a circumbinary disk within a simplified framework by assuming that orbital contraction and disk dissipation occur over the viscous timescale. The results showed that the orbit of the binary system after the common envelope evolution phase was further contracted by up to $\sim 17 \%$ due to the presence of the circumbinary disk, irrespective of the disk's mass and structure. This additional orbital contraction following the common envelope evolution phase may have significant implications for the formation rate of double neutron star binaries that merge within a cosmic timescale.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_27147
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Orbital Contraction of Post-Common-Envelope Binaries with a Circumbinary Disk
Karino, Shigeyuki
Nakamura, Kenji
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Tight and compact binary systems, such as double neutron star binaries, are believed to undergo a common envelope evolution phase, resulting in strongly bound orbits. During this phase, the outer layers of the primary star are expelled, resulting in orbital shrinkage. However, a part of the expelled material may remain as a circumbinary disk, which can further influence subsequent orbital evolution. In this study, we investigated orbital evolution in the presence of a circumbinary disk within a simplified framework by assuming that orbital contraction and disk dissipation occur over the viscous timescale. The results showed that the orbit of the binary system after the common envelope evolution phase was further contracted by up to $\sim 17 \%$ due to the presence of the circumbinary disk, irrespective of the disk's mass and structure. This additional orbital contraction following the common envelope evolution phase may have significant implications for the formation rate of double neutron star binaries that merge within a cosmic timescale.
title Orbital Contraction of Post-Common-Envelope Binaries with a Circumbinary Disk
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.27147