A Complete Sample of Wide Binaries in the Solar Neighborhood

A well-defined sample of unambiguously bound wide binaries in the solar neighborhood is presented. The sample appears complete for physical systems where s is greater than 0.32 mpc, M(V) is less than 9.0, pi is 0.040 arcsec or greater, and delta is larger than -12 deg. The sample contains 39 systems, of which about 41 percent are hierarchical systems. The distribution of the separations from the sample obeys a simple power law relation. A sharp cutoff in number density is indicated at about 0.1 pc. Based on the sample, number densities for wide binaries are calculated as a function of separation. It appears that about 3 percent of local stars should be members of systems wider than 0.01 pc.