The VMC survey - XV. The Small Magellanic Cloud--Bridge connection history as traced by their star cluster populations

Abstract

We present results based on YJKs photometry of star clusters located in the outermost, eastern region of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We analysed a total of 51 catalogued clusters whose colour--magnitude diagrams (CMDs), having been cleaned from field-star contamination, were used to assess the clusters' reality and estimate ages of the genuine systems. Based on CMD analysis, 15 catalogued clusters were found to be possible non-genuine aggregates. We investigated the properties of 80% of the catalogued clusters in this part of the SMC by enlarging our sample with previously obtained cluster ages, adopting a homogeneous scale for all. Their spatial distribution suggests that the oldest clusters, log(t yr-1) >= 9.6, are in general located at greater distances to the galaxy's centre than their younger counterparts -- 9.0 <= log(t yr-1) <= 9.4 -- while two excesses of clusters are seen at log(t yr-1) ~ 9.2 and log(t yr-1) ~ 9.7. We found a trail of younger clusters which follow the Wing/Bridge components. This long spatial sequence does not only harbour very young clusters, log(t yr-1) ~ 7.3, but it also hosts some of intermediate ages, log(t yr-1) ~ 9.1. The derived cluster and field-star formation frequencies as a function of age are different. The most surprising feature is an observed excess of clusters with ages of log(t yr-1) < 9.0, which could have been induced by interactions with the LMC.

17 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS (accepted)

References in corpus (10)

• The VISTA Science Archive
• New Optical Reddening Maps of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
• The Chemical Enrichment History of the Small Magellanic Cloud and Its Gradients
• The Magellanic Bridge: The Nearest Purely Tidal Stellar Population
• Star cluster "infant mortality" in the Small Magellanic Cloud (Redivivus)
• The Magellanic Squall: Gas Replenishment from the Small to Large Magellanic Cloud
• STEP: The VST survey of the SMC and the Magellanic Bridge. I. Overview and first results
• The VMC Survey. XI. Radial Stellar Population Gradients in the Galactic Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae
• Disentangling the physical reality of star cluster candidates projected towards the inner disc of the Large Magellanic Cloud
• BS196: an old star cluster far from the SMC main body

Cited by in corpus (16)

• The VISCACHA survey - I. Overview and First Results
• The VMC Survey -- XLVIII. Classical Cepheids unveil the 3D geometry of the LMC
• The VMC survey -- XLI. Stellar proper motions within the Small Magellanic Cloud
• The VISCACHA survey -- III. Star clusters counterpart of the Magellanic Bridge and Counter-Bridge in 8D
• Star cluster formation history along the minor axis of the Large Magellanic Cloud
• The VISCACHA survey -- II. Structure of star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds periphery
• Highly dynamically evolved intermediate-age open clusters
• STEP Survey II: Structural Analysis of 170 star clusters in the SMC
• Observational hints of a real age spread in the young LMC star cluster NGC 1971
• The VISCACHA survey -- VII. Assembly history of the Magellanic Bridge and SMC Wing from star clusters
• Detection of a diffuse extended halo-like structure around 47 Tuc
• The real population of star clusters in the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Astrophysical properties of newly discovered Magellanic Cloud star clusters
• On the physical reality of overlooked open clusters
• The VMC survey -- LIII. Data release #7. Complete survey data and data from additional programmes
• Ages and metallicities of stellar clusters using S-PLUS narrow-band integrated photometry: the Small Magellanic Cloud