A Search for Close Bright Companions to AeBe Stars

Abstract

We present the result of IR observations in the K band of 39 bright AeBe stars in the northern hemi- sphere. Using the shift-and-add technique, we were able to detect nearby objects as close as from the 0.4" from the primary star. We found nine stars that have one or more companions. Adjusting for completeness, we compute that the AeBe star binary rate is 85%. The binary rate of AeBe stars is therefore greater than that of near solar type MS stars (57%) and similar to that found in T Tauri stars (80%).