Orbit alignment in triple stars

Abstract

Statistics of the angle \Phi between orbital angular momenta in hierarchical triple systems with known inner visual or astrometric orbits are studied. Correlation between apparent revolution directions proves partial orbit alignment known from earlier works. The alignment is strong in triples with outer projected separation less than ~50 AU, where the average \Phi is about 20 degrees. In contrast, outer orbits wider than 1000 AU are not aligned with the inner orbits. It is established that the orbit alignment decreases with increasing mass of the primary component. Average eccentricity of inner orbits in well-aligned triples is smaller than in randomly aligned ones. These findings highlight the role of dissipative interactions with gas in defining the orbital architecture of low-mass triple systems. On the other hand, chaotic dynamics apparently played a role in shaping more massive hierarchies. Analysis of projected configurations and triples with known inner and outer orbits indicates that the distribution of \Phi is likely bimodal, where 80% of triples have \Phi<70 degrees and the remaining ones are randomly aligned.