Binary properties are usually expressed (for good observational reasons) as a function of primary mass. It has been found that the distribution of companion masses -- the mass ratio distribution -- is different for different primary masses. We argue
that system mass is the more fundamental physical parameter to use. We show that if system masses are drawn from a log-normal mass function, then the different observed mass ratio distributions as a function of primary mass, from M-dwarfs to A-stars, are all consistent with a universal, flat, system mass ratio distribution. We also show that the brown dwarf mass ratio distribution is not drawn from the same flat distribution, suggesting that the process which decides upon mass ratios is very different in brown dwarfs and stars.
We classify the finite dimensional irreducible representations with integral central character of finite $W$-algebras $U(mathfrak g,e)$ associated to standard Levi nilpotent orbits in classical Lie algebras of types B and C. This classification is gi
ven explicitly in terms of the highest weight theory for finite $W$-algebras.
Let $G$ be a connected reductive algebraic group defined over an algebraically closed field $mathbbm k$ of characteristic zero. We consider the commuting variety $mathcal C(mathfrak u)$ of the nilradical $mathfrak u$ of the Lie algebra $mathfrak b$ o
f a Borel subgroup $B$ of $G$. In case $B$ acts on $mathfrak u$ with only a finite number of orbits, we verify that $mathcal C(mathfrak u)$ is equidimensional and that the irreducible components are in correspondence with the {em distinguished} $B$-orbits in $mathfrak u$. We observe that in general $mathcal C(mathfrak u)$ is not equidimensional, and determine the irreducible components of $mathcal C(mathfrak u)$ in the minimal cases where there are infinitely many $B$-orbits in $mathfrak u$.
Stars form from dense molecular cores, and the mass function of these cores (the CMF) is often found to be similar to the form of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). This suggests that the form of the IMF is the result of the form of the CMF. Ho
wever, most stars are thought to form in binary and multiple systems, therefore the relationship between the IMF and the CMF cannot be trivial. We test two star formation scenarios - one in which all stars form as binary or triple systems, and one in which low-mass stars form in a predominantly single mode. We show that from a log-normal CMF, similar to those observed, and expected on theoretical grounds, the model in which all stars form as multiples gives a better fit to the IMF.
