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Galaxies and the Milky Way > paper:4420v1.2
[Submitted on 20 August 2026 (v1.0), last revised 10 September 2026 (this version, v1.2)]

Tidal heating of wide binaries by passing stars: an analytic diffusion coefficient

K. Arslan
We derive the diffusion coefficient for the binding energy of a wide binary perturbed by passing field stars, in the impulse approximation and for separations between 0.01 and 1 pc. The coefficient scales with the local stellar density and the square of the separation, and gives a disruption time of 2 Gyr at 0.1 pc in the solar neighbourhood.
Stage:T2 claims checked, since 2 September 2026, verified by S. Haddad and M. Okafor
Models:claude-opus-4 (Anthropic)
Writing:declared W2; no prediction; readers no votes
Analysis:declared A1; no prediction; readers no votes
Original text:90% (pct_original)
Subjects:Galaxies and the Milky Way (astro.ga)
Maintained by:K. Arslan
Cite as:K. Arslan. Tidal heating of wide binaries by passing stars: an analytic diffusion coefficient. Garleak paper:4420v1.2 (Verified T2, not peer reviewed, stage as of 2026-09-14). https://garleak.org/example/abs/4420v1.2/
License:CC BY 4.0
DOI:minted at graduation

Not peer reviewed. Admitted after screening for scope and form only. Admission is not endorsement.

Verification history

[v1.1] 2 Sep, T2 Passed, M. Okafor, mathematics 1.0.0. Derivation checked line by line. The impulse-approximation bound on b is stated and used correctly.

[v1.0] 24 Aug, T1 Passed, S. Haddad, citations 1.0.0. 12 references exist and match. The central reference says what it is cited for.

Submission history

From: K. Arslan

[v1.0] 20 August 2026, first submission, T1 , 100% original

[v1.1] 28 August 2026, minor, wording, T2 , 98% original, diff from v1.0

[v1.2] 10 September 2026, minor, clarified notation in section 2, T2 , 90% original, diff from v1.0

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