Constraining the Statistics of Population III Binaries

Understand

We perform a cosmological simulation in order to model the growth and evolution of Population III (Pop III) stellar systems in a range of host minihalo environments.

• A Pop III multiple system forms in each of the ten minihaloes, and the overall mass function is top-heavy compared to the currently observed initial mass function in the Milky Way.
• Using a sink particle to represent each growing protostar, we examine the binary characteristics of the multiple systems, resolving orbits on scales as small as 20 AU.
• We find a binary fraction of ~36%, with semi-major axes as large as 3000 AU.