Orbital evolution of close binary systems: comparing viscous and wind-driven circumbinary disc models

Abstract

ABSTRACT Previous work has shown that interactions between a central binary system and a circumbinary disc (CBD) can lead to the binary orbit either shrinking or expanding, depending on the properties of the disc. In this work, we perform two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of CBDs surrounding equal mass binary systems that are on fixed circular orbits, using the athena++ code in Cartesian coordinates. Previous studies have focused on discs where viscosity drives angular momentum transport. The aim of this work is to examine how the evolution of a binary system changes when angular momentum is extracted from the disc by a magnetized wind. In this proof-of-concept study, we mimic the effects of a magnetic field by applying an external torque that results in a prescribed radial mass flux through the disc. For three different values of the radial mass flux, we compare how the binary system evolves when the disc is either viscous or wind driven. In all cases considered, our simulations predict that the binary orbit should shrink faster by a factor of a few when surrounded by a wind-driven CBD compared to a corresponding viscous CBD. In-spiral time-scales of ∼106–107 yr are obtained for circular binaries surrounded by CBDs with masses typical of protoplanetary discs, indicating that significant orbital shrinkage can occur through binary–disc interactions during Class I/II pre-main-sequence phases.