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Description
We investigate the multiplicity properties of 408 B-type stars observed in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud with multi-epoch spectroscopy from the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS). We use a cross-correlation method to estimate relative radial velocities from the helium and metal absorption lines for each of our targets. Objects with significant radial-velocity variations (and with an amplitude larger than 16km/s) are classified as spectroscopic binaries. We find an observed spectroscopic binary fraction (defined by periods of <10^3.5^d and mass ratios >0.1) for the B-type stars, f_B_(obs)=0.25+/-0.02, which appears constant across the field of view, except for the two older clusters (Hodge 301 and SL 639). These two clusters have significantly lower binary fractions of 0.08+/-0.08 and 0.10+/-0.09, respectively. Using synthetic populations and a model of our observed epochs and their potential biases, we constrain the intrinsic multiplicity properties of the dwarf and giant (i.e. relatively unevolved) B-type stars in 30 Dor. We obtain a present-day binary fraction f_B_(true)=0.58+/-0.11, with a flat period distribution. Within the uncertainties, the multiplicity properties of the B-type stars agree with those for the O stars in 30 Dor from the VFTS.
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