The frequency of binaries with a degenerate component

The frequency of binaries with degenerate secondary components was evaluated according to the spectral types of the primaries. It appears that this proportion is 25% for binaries with giant primary components, and less than about 17% for dwarfs.Communication presented at the International Conference on Astrometric Binaries, held on 13–15 June, 1984, at the Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, Germany, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784–1846).