112 What fraction of stars are in multiple systems?
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This article is from the Astronomy FAQ, by Joseph Lazio (jlazio@patriot.net) with numerous contributions by others.
112 What fraction of stars are in multiple systems?
By John E. Gizis <jeg@pistol.caltech.edu>
According to the work of A. Duquennoy and M. Mayor, 57% of systems
have two or more stars. They were working with a sample of F and G
stars, i.e., stars like the Sun. It appears that for the coolest,
low-luminosity stars (the M-dwarfs) there are fewer binaries. Fischer
and Marcy found that only 42% of M-dwarfs are binaries. Neill Reid
and I have used HST images to find that for the coolest stars in the
Hyades cluster (absolute magnitude > 12, or mass < 0.3 solar masses)
only 30% are binaries.
[There's also the tongue-in-cheek answer that three out of every two
stars is in a binary. TJWL]
References:
Gizis, J. & Reid, I. Neill 1995, "Low-Mass Binaries in the Hyades,"
Astronomical Journal, v. 110, p. 1248
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