Abstract: Recent surveys show that wide (>104 AU) binaries and triples are abundant in the field. We study the long-term evolution of wide hierarchical triple systems and the role played by the Galactic tidal (GT) field. We find that when the time-scales of the secular von–Ziepel–Lidov–Kozai and the GT oscillations are comparable, triple evolution becomes chaotic which leads to extreme eccentricities. Consequently, the close pericentre approaches of the inner-binary components lead to strong interactions, mergers, and collisions. We use a no...
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Topics:
Astrophysics
Astronomy