The Origin of Large-scale HI structures in the Magellanic Bridge

Abstract

We investigate the formation of a number of key large-scale HI features in the ISM of the Magellanic Bridge using dissipationless numerical simulation techniques. This study comprises the first direct comparison between detailed HI maps of the Bridge and numerical simulations. We confirm that the SMC forms two tidal filaments: a near arm, which forms the connection between the SMC and LMC, and a counterarm. We show that the HI of the most dense part of the Bridge can become arranged into a bimodal configuration, and that the formation of a "loop" of HI, located off the North-Eastern edge of the SMC can be reproduced simply as a projection of the counter-arm, and without invoking localised energy-deposition processes such as SNe or stellar winds.

5 Pages, 4 Figures, Accepted - MNRAS lett

Cited by in corpus (5)

• The total mass and dark halo properties of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Metallicity and Physical Conditions in the Magellanic Bridge
• Formation of the Small Magellanic Cloud: ancient major merger as a solution to the kinematical differences between old stars and HI gas
• Origin of structural and kinematical properties of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• The Magellanic impact: Collision between the outer Galactic HI disk and the leading arms of the Magellanic stream