An Adaptive Optics Census of Companions to Northern Stars Within 25 pc with Robo-AO

In order to assess the multiplicity statistics of stars across spectral types and populations in a volume-limited sample, we censused nearby stars for companions with Robo-AO. We report on observations of 1157 stars of all spectral types within 25 pc with decl. >13 degrees searching for tight companions. We detected 154 companion candidates with separations ranging from similar to 0.'' 15 to 4.'' 0 and magnitude differences up to Delta m(i), <= 7 using the robotic adaptive optics instrument Robo-AO. We confirmed physical association from Gaia EDR3 astrometry for 53 of the companion candidates, 99 remain to be confirmed, and two were ruled out as background objects. We complemented the high-resolution imaging companion search with a search for comoving objects with separations out to 10,000 au in Gaia EDR3, which resulted in an additional 147 companions registered. Of the 301 total companions reported in this study, 49 of them are new discoveries. Out of the 191 stars with significant acceleration measurements in the Hipparcos-Gaia catalog of accelerations, we detect companions around 115 of them, with the significance of the acceleration increasing as the companion separation decreases. From this survey, we report the following multiplicity fractions (compared to literature values): 40.9% +/- 3.0% (44%) for FGK stars and 28.2% +/- 2.3% (27%) for M stars, as well as higher-order fractions of 5.5% +/- 1.1% (11%) and 3.9% +/- 0.9% (5%) for FGK stars and M-type stars, respectively.

Automated summary

We conducted a census of nearby stars for companions using Robo-AO and detected 154 companion candidates. We confirmed physical association for 53 of them and found an additional 147 companions using Gaia EDR3. In total, we reported 301 companions, including 49 new discoveries. The study also provided multiplicity fractions for different spectral types of stars.