The SB9 catalogue: status, comparison with non-single stars from Gaia DR3 and evolution to SBX

Abstract: The Ninth Catalogue of Spectroscopic Binary Orbits (SB9) is a comprehensive compilation of spectroscopic binaries (SBs) with orbital parameters sourced from literature, comprising approximately 4000 systems (2800 single-lined and 1200 double-lined). This work presents the latest status of SB9 after two decades of development, detailing the statistical properties of SBs through orbital period distributions and eccentricity-period diagrams categorized by spectral type and evolutionary stage. We performed a rigorous cross-match with Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3) to update astrometric parameters and compare SB9 with the Gaia DR3 Non-Single Star (NSS) catalogue. Our methodology utilized positional separations, magnitudes, and proper-motion back-propagation for identification. The final SB9 version updated by D. Pourbaix includes 4003 systems, including higher-order multiples: 152 triples, 71 quadruples, and 14 higher-order systems. Of these, 3976 have Gaia DR3 identifiers; 21 are too bright and six too faint for detection. Ten SB9 systems with periods exceeding 1180 days were spatially resolved by Gaia DR3. We identified a common sample of 827 binaries cross-matched with Gaia NSS, with 655 considered highly reliable based on period and eccentricity differences under 10%. The limited overlap (20-30% of SB9) results from NSS selection cuts, brightness limits, and temporal baselines. This study highlights the complementary strengths of both catalogues and establishes a benchmark sample for binary star research. Finally, this work marks the transition of SB9 into SBX (The eXtended Catalogue of Spectroscopic Binary Orbits), featuring a modern relational database, improved web interface, and Virtual Observatory access standards to enhance data quality and accessibility for the stellar community.