The dynamical evolution of Taurus--Auriga-type aggregates

Abstract

(abridged) Star formation in the Taurus--Auriga (TA) molecular clouds is producing binary-rich aggregates containing at most a few dozen systems within a region spanning one pc without massive stars. This environment is very different to another well-studied star-forming event which produced the Orion Nebula cluster (ONC). Differences between these two environments have been found. Notably, the ONC has a significantly smaller binary proportion but a significantly larger number of isolated brown dwarfs per star than TA. This paper focusses on the dynamical evolution of the TA aggregates and the changes in their binary populations with an emphasis on the brown-dwarf properties.