Not That Simple: The Metallicity Dependence of the Wide Binary Fraction Changes with Separation and Stellar Mass

Abstract

The metallicity dependence of the wide binary fraction (WBF) is critical for studying the formation of wide binaries. While controversial results have been found in recent years, here we combine the wide binary catalog recognized from Gaia EDR3 and stellar parameters from LAMOST to investigate this topic. Taking the bias of the stellar temperature at given separations into account, we find that the relationship between the WBF and metallicity depends on the temperature for the thin disk at s > 200 au. It changes from negative to positive as the temperature increases from 4000 to 7500 K. This temperature/mass dependence is not seen for the thick disk. Besides, the general tendency between the WBF and metallicity varies with the separation, consistent with previous results. It shows anticorrelation at small separations, s < 200 au for the thin disk and s < 600 au for the thick disk. Then it becomes an “arcuate” shape at larger separations (hundreds to thousands of astronomical units), peaking at [Fe/H] ≈0.1 for the thin disk and [Fe/H] ≈−0.5 for the thick disk. Finally it becomes roughly flat for the thin disk at 1000 < s < 10,000 au. Our work provides new observational evidence for theoretical studies on binary formation and evolution.