The Star Formation History of the Magellanic Clouds: Latest Results

Monelli, M.; Carrera, R.; Gallart, C.; Meschin, I.; Aparicio, A.; Hidalgo, S. L.; Bono, G.; Stetson, P. B.; Walker, A. R.
Bibliographical reference

EAS Publications Series, Volume 48, 2011, pp.43-49

Advertised on:
7
2011
Number of authors
9
IAC number of authors
6
Citations
3
Refereed citations
3
Description
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.