2008/05/29 by E. R. Parkin, J. M. Pittard · 91 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Binary number #Binary star #Classical mechanics #Curvature #Discontinuity (linguistics) #Geometry #Mathematical analysis #Orbit (dynamics) #Orbital eccentricity #Physics #Stars #Stellar wind #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13511.x
published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 388(3), 1047-1061 (Oxford University Press) · 16 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS
arxiv created 2008/05/29 · openalex publication_date 2008/07/15 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present a three-dimensional (3D) dynamical model of the orbital-induced curvature of the wind–wind collision region in binary star systems. Momentum balance equations are used to determine the position and shape of the contact discontinuity between the stars, while further downstream the gas is assumed to behave ballistically. An Archimedean spiral structure is formed by the motion of the stars, with clear resemblance to high-resolution images of the so-called ‘pinwheel nebulae’. A key advantage of this approach over grid or smoothed particle hydrodynamic models is its significantly reduced computational cost, while it also allows the study of the structure obtained in an eccentric orbit. The model is relevant to symbiotic systems and γ-ray binaries, as well as systems with O-type and Wolf–Rayet stars. As an example application, we simulate the X-ray emission from hypothetical O+O and WR+O star binaries, and describe a method of ray tracing through the 3D spiral structure to account for absorption by the circumstellar material in the system. Such calculations may be easily adapted to study observations at wavelengths ranging from the radio to γ-ray.