Searching for Triple Systems Unbound by Supernovae

A large fraction of massive stars are found in higher order systems where the presence of a tertiary may significantly modify the system's evolution. In particular, it can lead to increased numbers of compact object binaries and accelerate their mergers with important implications for gravitati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2024-04
Main Authors: Barboza, Karina, Kochanek, Christopher S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Confidence limits
Gravitational waves
Massive stars
Searching
Stellar evolution
Supernova remnants
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Summary:A large fraction of massive stars are found in higher order systems where the presence of a tertiary may significantly modify the system's evolution. In particular, it can lead to increased numbers of compact object binaries and accelerate their mergers with important implications for gravitational wave observations. Using Gaia, we constrain the number of Galactic supernovae that produce unbound triples. We do this by searching 8 supernova remnants for stars with consistent Gaia parallaxes and paths intersecting near the center of the supernova remnant at a time consistent with the age of the remnant. We find no candidates for unbound triple systems. Combined with prior work, less than 11.4\% of supernovae leave behind unbound triples at a 90\% confidence limit. The absence of such systems limits their role in the evolution of massive stars and the formation of merging compact objects.
ISSN:2331-8422