Chaos and Tidal Capture

We review the tidal capture mechanism for binary formation, an important process in globular cluster cores and perhaps open cluster cores. Tidal capture binaries may be the precursors for some of the low-mass X-ray binaries observed in abundance in globular clusters. They may also play an important role in globular cluster dynamics. We summarize the chaos model for tidal interaction (Mardling 1995, ApJ, 450, 722, 732), and discuss how this affects our understanding of the circularization process which follows capture.