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Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Article . 2018 . Peer-reviewed
License: OUP Standard Publication Reuse
Data sources: Crossref
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https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/ar...
Article . 2018
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
St Andrews Research Repository
Article . 2018 . Peer-reviewed
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Testing gravity with wide binary stars like α Centauri

Authors: Indranil Banik; Hongsheng Zhao;

Testing gravity with wide binary stars like α Centauri

Abstract

We consider the feasibility of testing Newtonian gravity at low accelerations using wide binary (WB) stars separated by $\ge 3$ kAU. These systems probe the accelerations at which galaxy rotation curves unexpectedly flatline, possibly due to Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). We conduct Newtonian and MOND simulations of WBs covering a grid of model parameters in the system mass, semi-major axis, eccentricity and orbital plane. We self-consistently include the external field (EF) from the rest of the Galaxy on the Solar neighbourhood using an axisymmetric algorithm. For a given projected separation, WB relative velocities reach larger values in MOND. The excess is ${\approx 20\%}$ adopting its simple interpolating function, as works best with a range of Galactic and extragalactic observations. This causes noticeable MOND effects in accurate observations of ${\approx 500}$ WBs, even without radial velocity measurements. We show that the proposed Theia mission may be able to directly measure the orbital acceleration of Proxima Centauri towards the 13 kAU-distant $α$ Centauri. This requires an astrometric accuracy of $\approx 1 \, μ$as over 5 years. We also consider the long-term orbital stability of WBs with different orbital planes. As each system rotates around the Galaxy, it experiences a time-varying EF because this is directed towards the Galactic Centre. We demonstrate approximate conservation of the angular momentum component along this direction, a consequence of the WB orbit adiabatically adjusting to the much slower Galactic orbit. WBs with very little angular momentum in this direction are less stable over Gyr periods. This novel direction-dependent effect might allow for further tests of MOND.

31 pages, 20 figures, 6 tables. Fixed typo in equation 11

Country
United Kingdom
Keywords

Galaxy: disc, FOS: Physical sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics, DAS, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, 520, QC Physics, Stars: individual: Proxima Centauri, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Dark matter, Binaries: general, QB Astronomy, Proper motions, QC, Gravitation, QB

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
64
Top 1%
Top 10%
Top 10%
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