The updated statistics of binary star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) has been known to host a significant fraction of binary star clusters whose dynamical and physical nature become interesting issue in accordance with the history of the galaxy. To understand the characteristics and the history of the binary clusters, it is important to establish a well-sampled statistics of this population. Among ~ 3100 star clusters (excluding associations), there are 634 clusters considered as binary/multiple cluster candidates. In this paper, the empirical statistics of the population, including spatial, size, separation, and age distribution are constructed using updated data. The current cluster compilation includes the ages of 88% group components, which is three times more complete compared to the previous study. From the established statistics, we found an evidence that cloud fissions become the most probable mechanism of binary star cluster formation. Size and separation distribution of the clusters in binary/multiple systems show the importance of dynamical interaction within the systems.