The Binary Populations of Stellar Streams are Set by Cluster Dynamics

arXiv:2603.06790 · astro-ph.GA · Submitted 2026-03-06 · Read on arXiv

astro-ph.GA

Submitted: 2026-03-06

Updated: 2026-08-27

Comments: Accepted version; now published in ApJ, see http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae680b

Journal ref: ApJ, 1003(2), 188 (2026)

DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae680b

Code: https://github.com/lwang-astro/PeTar

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The gist: We present a suite of direct N-body simulations of low mass (<10 4 M) globular cluster streams initialized with observationally-motivated binary demographics in order to understand the effect of

Terminology

Abstract

We present a suite of direct N-body simulations of low mass (<10 4 M) globular cluster streams initialized with observationally-motivated binary demographics in order to understand the effect of in-cluster dynamical processing on the stream binary population. The models are initialized with a range of stellar densities and cluster orbits, and Poisson variation in the number of massive and short-lived stars. Wide binaries are disrupted on short timescales by internal tides and on long timescales by two-body encounters. Tides are most important prior to impulsive mass loss-driven cluster expansion. Close binaries (P orb<10 squared yr) are most abundant at the stream center due to cluster mass segregation. The wide binary fraction and the degree of binary segregation in the resulting stream are sensitive to the initial cluster density and massive star fraction. In mock radial velocity surveys of the simulated streams, undetectable binaries have velocity amplitudes of about 0.5 - 1 km s-1, adding about0.1 km s-1 of velocity dispersion to the streams, and are dynamically depleted by about10 - 60% compared to the initial binary population. Custom N-body models of Milky Way streams with binaries will allow a holistic understanding of their dynamical structures in advance of upcoming multi-epoch spectroscopic surveys.

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