Binary dynamics near a massive black hole

Understand

We analyze the dynamical evolution of binary stars that interact with a static background of single stars in the environment of a massive black hole (MBH).

• All stars are considered to be single mass, Newtonian point particles.
• We follow the evolution of the energy E and angular momentum J of the center of mass of the binaries with respect to the MBH, as well as their internal semi-major axis a, using a Monte Carlo method.
• For a system like the Galactic center, the main conclusions are the following: (1) The binary fraction can be of the order of a few percent outside 0.1 pc, but decreases quickly closer to the MBH.