Encounters of binaries

Gravitational encounters of pairs of binaries have been studied numerically. Various cross-sections have been calculated for qualitative final results of the interaction and for energy transfer between the binding energy and the centre of mass kinetic energy. The distribution of the kinetic energies, resulting from the gravitational collision, were found to be virtually independent of the impact velocity in the case of collision of hard binaries. It was found that one out of five collisions, which are not simple fly-by's, leads to the formation of a stable three-body system. (author)