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In the past decade, the number of known binary near-Earth asteroids has more than quadrupled and the number of known large main belt asteroids with satellites has doubled. Half a dozen triple asteroids have been discovered, and the previously unrecognized populations of asteroid pairs and small main belt binaries have been identified. The current observational evidence confirms that small (<20 km) binaries form by rotational fission and establishes that the YORP effect powers the spin-up process. A unifying paradigm based on rotational fission and post-fission dynamics can explain the formation of small binaries, triples, and pairs. Large (>20 km) binaries with small satellites are most likely created during large collisions.
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We studied 93 asteroid pairs. We estimated times elapsed since separation of pair members that are between 7*10^3 and a few 10^6 yr. We derived the rotation periods for all the primaries and a sample of secondaries. We derived the absolute magnitude differences of the asteroid pairs that provide their mass ratios. We refined their WISE geometric albedos and estimated their taxonomic classifications. For 17 pairs, we determined their pole positions. In 2 pairs where we obtained the spin poles for both components, we saw the same sense of rotation for both components and constrained the angles between their original spin vectors at the time of their separation. We found that the primaries of 13 pairs are actually binary or triple systems, i.e., they have one or two bound secondaries (satellites). As by-product, we found 3 new young asteroid clusters (each of them consisting of three known asteroids on highly similar orbits). We compared the obtained asteroid pair data with theoretical predictions and discussed their implications. We found that 86 of the 93 studied pairs follow the trend of primary rotation period vs mass ratio that was found by Pravec et al. (2010). Of the 7 outliers, 3 appear insignificant (may be due to our uncertain or incomplete knowledge), but 4 are high mass ratio pairs that were unpredicted by the theory of asteroid pair formation by rotational fission. We discuss a (remotely) possible way that they could be created by rotational fission of flattened parent bodies followed by re-shaping of the formed components. The 13 pairs with binary primaries are particularly interesting systems that place important constraints on formation and evolution of asteroid pairs. We present two hypotheses for their formation: The pairs having both bound and unbound secondaries could be `failed asteroid clusters, or they could be formed by a cascade primary spin fission process.
Asteroid pairs sharing similar heliocentric orbits were found recently. Backward integrations of their orbits indicated that they separated gently with low relative velocities, but did not provide additional insight into their formation mechanism. A previously hypothesized rotational fission process4 may explain their formation - critical predictions are that the mass ratios are less than about 0.2 and, as the mass ratio approaches this upper limit, the spin period of the larger body becomes long. Here we report photometric observations of a sample of asteroid pairs revealing that primaries of pairs with mass ratios much less than 0.2 rotate rapidly, near their critical fission frequency. As the mass ratio approaches 0.2, the primary period grows long. This occurs as the total energy of the system approaches zero requiring the asteroid pair to extract an increasing fraction of energy from the primarys spin in order to escape. We do not find asteroid pairs with mass ratios larger than 0.2. Rotationally fissioned systems beyond this limit have insufficient energy to disrupt. We conclude that asteroid pairs are formed by the rotational fission of a parent asteroid into a proto-binary system which subsequently disrupts under its own internal system dynamics soon after formation.
The fraction of stars which are in binaries or triples at the time of stellar death and the fraction of these systems which survive the supernova (SN) explosion are crucial constraints for evolution models and predictions for gravitational wave source populations. These fractions are also subject to direct observational determination. Here we search 10 supernova remnants (SNR) containing compact objects with proper motions for unbound binaries or triples using Gaia EDR3 and new statistical methods and tests for false positives. We confirm the one known example of an unbound binary, HD 37424 in G180.0-01.7, and find no other examples. Combining this with our previous searches for bound and unbound binaries, and assuming no bias in favor of finding interacting binaries, we find that 72.0% (52.2%-86.4%, 90% confidence) of SN producing neutron stars are not binaries at the time of explosion, 13.9% (5.4%-27.2%) produce bound binaries and 12.5% (2.8%-31.3%) produce unbound binaries. With a strong bias in favor of finding interacting binaries, the medians shift to 76.0% were not binaries at death, 9.5% leave bound and 13.2% leave unbound binaries. Of explosions that do not leave binaries, <18.9% can be fully unbound triples. These limits are conservatively for M>5Msun stars, although the mass limits for individual systems are significantly stronger. At birth, the progenitor of PSR J0538+2817 was probably a 13-19Msun star, and at the time of explosion it was probably a Roche limited, partially stripped star transferring mass to HD 37424 and then producing a Type IIL or IIb supernova.
The Super Wide Angle Search for Planets (SuperWASP) is a whole-sky high-cadence optical survey which has searched for exoplanetary transit signatures since 2004. Its archive contains long-term light curves for ~30 million 8-15 V magnitude stars, making it a valuable serendipitous resource for variable star research. We have concentrated on the evidence it provides for eclipsing binaries, in particular those exhibiting orbital period variations, and have developed custom tools to measure periods precisely and detect period changes reliably. Amongst our results are: a collection of 143 candidate contact or semi-detached eclipsing binaries near the short-period limit in the main sequence binary period distribution; a probable hierarchical triple exhibiting dramatic sinusoidal period variations; a new doubly-eclipsing quintuple system; and new evidence for period change or stability in 12 post-common-envelope eclipsing binaries, which may support the existence of circumbinary planets in such systems. A large-scale search for period changes in ~14000 SuperWASP eclipsing binary candidates also yields numerous examples of sinusoidal period change, suggestive of tertiary companions, and may allow us to constrain the frequency of triple systems amongst low-mass stars.
Photometric lightcurves were also obtained for 14 of them during the Spitzer observations to provide the context of the observations and reliable estimates of their absolute magnitudes. The extracted mid-IR spectra were analyzed using a modified standard thermal model (STM) and a thermophysical model (TPM) that takes into account the shape and geometry of the large primary at the time of the Spitzer observation. We derived a reliable estimate of the size, albedo, and beaming factor for each of these asteroids, representing three main taxonomic groups: C, S, and X. For large (volume-equivalent system diameter Deq $lt$ 130 km) binary asteroids, the TPM analysis indicates a low thermal inertia ($Gamma$ < $sim$100 J s-1/2K-1m-2) and their emissivity spectra display strong mineral features, implying that they are covered with a thick layer of thermally insulating regolith. The smaller (surface-equivalent system diameter Deff $lt$17 km) asteroids also show some emission lines of minerals, but they are significantly weaker, consistent with regoliths with coarser grains, than those of the large binary asteroids. The average bulk densities of these multiple asteroids vary from 0.7-1.7 g/cm3 (P-, C- type) to $sim$2 g/cm3 (S-type). The highest density is estimated for the M-type (22) Kalliope (3.2 $pm$ 0.9 g/cm3). The spectral energy distributions (SED) and emissivity spectra, made available as a supplement document, could help to constrain the surface compositions of these asteroids.
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