Paper: astro-ph/0601375
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 20:56:12 GMT (44kb)

Title: Stellar Multiplicity and the IMF: Most Stars Are Single Born

Authors: Charles J. Lada

Comments: Submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters, 5 pages, 2 figures.

Complete paper can be also obtained at

http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~clada/pubs_html/binaries.html

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In this short communication I compare recent findings suggesting a low binary
star fraction for late type stars with knowledge concerning the forms of the
stellar initial and present day mass functions for masses down to the hydrogen
burning limit. This comparison indicates that most stellar systems formed in
the galaxy are likely single and not binary as has been often asserted. Indeed,
in the current epoch two-thirds of all main sequence stellar systems in the
Galactic disk are composed of single stars. Some implications of this
realization for understanding the star and planet formation process are briefly
mentioned.

\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0601375 , 44kb)