Stars Prefer Partners: How Binary Star Systems Form

Presentation by Ben Tofflemire, UW-Madison Astronomy Dept.

Stars are frequently observed in gravitationally bound pairs called binaries. Binary stars are a common outcome of star formation yet the effect of binarity on star and planet formation remains poorly understood. In this talk, Ben will discuss the well-established star and planet formation scenario that has been developed for single stars and comment on the challenges that binary stars pose to this scenario.