Institute for Advanced Study Astrophysics Seminar

Binary stars in the central parsecs of galaxies are involved in the production of several modern astronomical phenomena, including hypervelocity stars, repeating partial tidal disruption events, and dust-enshrouded objects around Sgr A*. I present an overview of some key aspects of the dynamical evolution of these binaries. In particular, I discuss recent theoretical results suggesting that up to half of the stellar binaries in the central parsec of the Milky Way should shrink to near-contact separations over their main sequence lifetimes. I then consider how the gravitational potential induced by an active galactic nucleus disk may sculpt this population. Finally, I attempt to connect these theories to observational puzzles surrounding some of the binary-related phenomena listed above.