Spatial variations in the star formation history of the Large Magellanic Cloud

Gallart, Carme; Meschin, Ingrid; Aparicio, Antonio; Stetson, Peter B.; Hidalgo, Sebastián L.
Referencia bibliográfica

The Magellanic System: Stars, Gas, and Galaxies, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 256, p. 281-286

Fecha de publicación:
3
2009
Número de autores
5
Número de autores del IAC
4
Número de citas
2
Número de citas referidas
1
Descripción
Based on the quantitative analysis of a set of wide-field color—magnitude diagrams reaching the old main sequence-turnoffs, we present new LMC star-formation histories, and their variation with galactocentric distance. Some coherent features are found, together with systematic variations of the star-formation history among the three fields analyzed. We find two main episodes of star formation in all three fields, from 1 to 4 and 7 to 13 Gyr ago, with relatively low star formation around ≃ 4-7 Gyr ago. The youngest age in each field gradually increases with galactocentric radius; in the innermost field, LMC 0514-6503, an additional star formation event younger than 1 Gyr is detected, with star formation declining, however, in the last ≃ 200 Myr. The population is found to be older on average toward the outer part of the galaxy, although star formation in all fields seems to have started around 13 Gyr ago.