Wide binaries are rare in open clusters

Abstract

ABSTRACT The population statistics of binary stars are an important output of star formation models. However, populations of wide binaries evolve over time due to interactions within a system’s birth environment and the unfolding of wide, hierarchical triple systems. Hence, the wide binary populations observed in star-forming regions or OB associations may not accurately reflect the wide binary populations that will eventually reach the field. We use Gaia DR2 data to select members of three open clusters, Alpha Per, the Pleiades, and Praesepe and to flag cluster members that are likely unresolved binaries due to overluminosity or elevated astrometric noise. We then identify the resolved wide binary population in each cluster, separating it from coincident pairings of unrelated cluster members. We find that these clusters have an average wide binary fraction in the 300–3000 au projected separation range of 2.1$\pm ^{0.4}_{0.2}$ per cent increasing to 3.0$\pm ^{0.8}_{0.7}$ per cent for primaries with masses in the 0.5–1.5 M⊙ range. This is significantly below the observed field wide binary fraction, but shows some wide binaries survive in these dynamically highly processed environments. We compare our results with another open cluster (the Hyades) and two populations of young stars that likely originated in looser associations (young moving groups and the Pisces-Eridanus stream). We find that the Hyades also has a deficit of wide binaries while the products of looser associations have wide binary fractions at or above field level.