The bound origin of low-mass stellar binaries

Most main sequence stars, unlike our Sun, belong to multiple systems containing two or more stars. How and when these multiples come together and become bound is uncertain, as the earliest stages of star formation are difficult to resolve. Here we analyse simulations of star cluster formation in Milky Way-like conditions, including all key physics and stellar feedback mechanisms, to understand how multiple systems form. We show that ~70–80% of binaries are gravitationally bound from the moment the second star forms. Binaries evolve and accrete together, which will affect their planetary systems and chemical evolution. Half of the binaries are disrupted by the end of the star-formation epoch, such that ~40% of the final single stars belonged to a multiple at some point, with implications for the stellar initial mass function. Formation in multiples is the dominant mode of star formation, accounting for at least 57% of stars.