Stability and fate of hierarchical triples comprising a central massive body and a tight binary in eccentric orbits

Abstract

We explore the stability and fate of gravitational triple systems comprising a central massive body and a tight binary of less massive pairs. Our present purpose is two fold; (1) to improve the Hill-type stability criterion for the binary in those systems, and (2) to examine the fate of the triple systems after the binary break-up, with particular attention to the effects of the eccentricities of the inner and outer orbits. We perform direct Newtonian N-body simulations over much longer integration times than previous studies, which is essential to determine the eventual fate of those systems statistically in a reliable fashion. We obtain an empirical fitting formula of the binary stability boundary that incorporates effects of the inner and outer eccentricities, the mutual inclination of the inner and outer orbits, and the mass ratios of the three bodies. We also find that those triple systems are stable for a much longer timescale after the binary break-up, and that their final fates (ejection of the outer body, merger to the central massive body, and collision of two less massive bodies) are very sensitive to the initial outer eccentricity.