The evolution of a primordial binary population in a globular cluster

Abstract

A simple model is presented for the evolution of a primordial binary population in a globular cluster. Monte Carlo simulations are given for an initial population of 50,000 binaries against a fixed background population of 500,000 single stars in a tidally truncated cluster model. Individual histories of all binaries are followed through mass segregation, scattering recoil, escape from the cluster, or coalescence. It is found that most binaries are destroyed by binary-binary interactions, with the rest escaping in the point-mass approximation. In a more realistic model, the majority of the rest merge. At any instant, most of the remaining binaries are drifting in toward the center before their first strong encounter. A typical binary spends most of its active life in or near the cluster core. The few binaries which receive a recoil sufficient to place them in the halo past the half-mass radius remain there long enough to make a significant contribution to the radial binary distribution.