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The Star Formation History of the Magellanic Clouds: Latest Results

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2011

M. Koleva ,
Ph. Prugniel ,
I. Vauglin ,
M. Monelli ,
R. Carrera ,
C. Gallart ,
I. Meschin ,
A. Aparicio ,
S.L. Hidalgo  and
G. Bono
...Show all authors
M. Monelli*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle via Lactea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Spain Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
R. Carrera
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle via Lactea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Spain Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
C. Gallart
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle via Lactea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Spain Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
I. Meschin
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle via Lactea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Spain Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
A. Aparicio
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle via Lactea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Spain Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
S.L. Hidalgo
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle via Lactea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Spain Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
G. Bono
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
P.B. Stetson
Affiliation:
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, Victoria, Canada
A.R. Walker
Affiliation:
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, NOAO, La Serena, Chile
*
e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

We present new results of a long-term investigation of the stellar content of the Large and the Small Magellanic Cloud. The main aim of the project is to obtain a comprehensive knowledge of the star formation history of these two nearby galaxies. Here we discuss the latest findings obtained using new data and a variety of different observational approaches, based on wide-field ground-based photometry and low-resolution CaT spectra. We find evidence of two main star formation events across the LMC disk. We also found evidence that the young and intermediate age population (<5 Gyr) presents a steeper gradient with radius than the old one (>8 Gyr). In particular, the young (<2 Gyr) component seems to extend to 8 degrees from the center, distance at which it decreases abruptly. At larger distance, the old population dominates, extending to at least 13.5 kpc. We also report the discovery of a population of stars located across the Magellanic Bridge, compatible with the old population of the LMC.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Astronomical Society Publications Series , Volume 48: CRAL-2010 A Universe of Dwarf Galaxies , 2011 , pp. 43 - 49
Copyright
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2011

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References

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