Computer simulations of close encounters between binary and single stars: the effect of the impact velocity and the stellar masses

A total of 45 760 simulated encounters between binary and single stars were run to study the effect of impact velocity and the masses of the three stars on the outcome of the collisions. Letting α be the kinetic energy of impact in units of the minimum kinetic energy required to break up the binary, we find that the crossover point between hard binaries (tightly bound binaries which increase their binding energies in the collisions) and soft binaries (more loosely bound binaries which decrease their binding energies in collisions) occurs at αapprox. =0.5 if the impacting single star is equal to or less massive than the binary components and occurs at αapprox. =10 if its mass is three or more times that of the binary components. This bimodal behavior of the crossover point is even more clearly defined when we find its location in terms of the impact velocity V/sub f/ , expressed in units of the original mean orbital speed V/sub o/ of the binary. We find that the crossover point occurs at V/sub f//V/sub o/ approx. =0.6 when the mass of the impacting star is equal to or less than that of the more massive binary component, and it occurs at V/sub f//V/sub o/ approx. =1.9 when its mass is three or more times greater than that of this binary component. The probability that the binary will be broken up in the encounter depends greatly on the mass of the impacting single star relative to that of the binary components, as well as on the impact velocity. If the single-star mass equals or exceeds that of the individual binary components, there is an interval of impact velocity over which all the binaries are broken up in encounters at the zero-impact parameter. This interval grows as the mass of the impacting single star increases. If the impacting star is less massive than the binary components, then the maximum probability of dissociation drops dramatically