Fewer companions in the crowd: the low close binary fraction in globular clusters from <i>Gaia</i> RVS

ABSTRACT In dense environments like globular clusters (GCs), dynamical interactions can disrupt or harden close binaries, none the less, detailed comparisons with field binary fractions remain limited. Here, we present an analysis of the close binary fraction in a carefully selected sample of field stars and 10 GCs using Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrometer data, which is among the largest samples of GCs analysed using multi-epoch spectroscopy to date. By assessing the peak-to-peak variations of the sources’ radial velocity (RV), we estimate the close binary fractions through a method that fits the distribution as the product of two Gaussian distributions. By applying the same RV-variability method to both cluster members and field stars, we ensure a homogeneous and inclusive comparison between the two environments. Despite matching stellar parameters between the field and GC samples, our findings confirm that GCs possess a significantly lower close binary fraction than field stars. Interestingly, we do not detect any clear trend of binary fraction with cluster metallicity; metal-rich and metal-poor GCs are uniformly binary-poor (within uncertainties). We discuss possible interpretations, including dynamical hardening in dense environments and the effects of common envelope evolution, which may lead to companion accretion or merger events.