Abstract We report the first 3D kinematical measurements of 88 stars in the direction of several recently discovered substructures in the southern periphery of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using a combination of Gaia proper motions and radial velocities from the APOGEE-2 survey. More specifically, we explore stars in assorted APOGEE-2 pointings in a region of the LMC periphery where various overdensities of stars have previously been identified in maps of stars from Gaia and DECam. By using a model of the LMC disk rotation, we find that a sizable fraction of the APOGEE-2 stars have extreme space velocities that are distinct from, and not a simple extension of, the LMC disk. Using N -body hydrodynamical simulations of the past dynamical evolution and interaction of the LMC and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), we explore whether the extreme-velocity stars may be accounted for as tidal debris created in the course of that interaction. We conclude that the combination of LMC and SMC debris produced from their interaction is a promising explanation, although we cannot rule out other possible origins, and that these new data should be used to constrain future simulations of the LMC–SMC interaction. We also conclude that many of the stars in the southern periphery of the LMC lie outside of the LMC plane by several kiloparsecs. Given that the metallicity of these stars suggests that they are likely of Magellanic origin, our results suggest that a wider exploration of the past interaction history of the Magellanic Clouds is needed.
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Exploring the origin of the distance bimodality of stars in the periphery of the Small Magellanic Cloud with APOGEE and Gaia
The Magellanic Cloud system represents a unique laboratory for study of both interacting dwarf galaxies and the ongoing process of the formation of the Milky Way and its halo. We focus on one aspect of this complex, three-body interaction – the dynamical perturbation of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) by the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and specifically potential tidal effects on the SMC’s eastern side. Using Gaia astrometry and the precise radial velocities (RVs) and multielement chemical abundances from Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2) Data Release 17, we explore the well-known distance bimodality on the eastern side of the SMC. Through estimated stellar distances, proper motions, and RVs, we characterize the kinematics of the two populations in the bimodality and compare their properties with those of SMC populations elsewhere. Moreover, while all regions explored by APOGEE seem to show a single chemical enrichment history, the metallicity distribution function (MDF), of the ‘far’ stars on the eastern periphery of the SMC is found to resemble that for the more metal-poor fields of the western periphery, whereas the MDF for the ‘near’ stars on the eastern periphery resembles that for stars in the SMC Centre. The closer eastern periphery stars also show RVs (corrected for SMC rotation and bulk motion) that are, on average, approaching us relative to all other SMC populations sampled. We interpret these trends as evidence that the near stars on the eastern side of the SMC represent material pulled out of the central SMC as part of its tidal interaction with the LMC.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1908331
- PAR ID:
- 10498787
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 529
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 3858-3876
- Size(s):
- p. 3858-3876
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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We present the first detailed chemical analysis from APOGEE-2S observations of stars in six regions of recently discovered substructures in the outskirts of the Magellanic Clouds extending to 20° from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) center. We also present, for the first time, the metallicity and
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ABSTRACT The structure of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is very complex, in particular in the periphery that suffers more from the interactions with the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). A wealth of observational evidence has been accumulated revealing tidal tails and bridges made up of gas, stars, and star clusters. Nevertheless, a full picture of the SMC outskirts is only recently starting to emerge with a 6D phase-space map plus age and metallicity using star clusters as tracers. In this work, we continue our analysis of another outer region of the SMC, the so-called West Halo, and combined it with the previously analysed Northern Bridge. We use both structures to define the Bridge and Counter-bridge trailing and leading tidal tails. These two structures are moving away from each other, roughly in the SMC–LMC direction. The West Halo form a ring around the SMC inner regions that goes up to the background of the Northern Bridge shaping an extended layer of the Counter-bridge. Four old Bridge clusters were identified at distances larger than 8 kpc from the SMC centre moving towards the LMC, which is consistent with the SMC–LMC closest distance of 7.5 kpc when the Magellanic Bridge was formed about 150Myr ago; this shows that the Magellanic Bridge was not formed only by pulled gas, but it also removed older stars from the SMC during its formation. We also found age and metallicity radial gradients using projected distances on sky, which are vanished when we use the real 3D distances.
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ABSTRACT We use data from the Magellanic Edges Survey (MagES) in combination with Gaia EDR3 to study the extreme southern outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), focussing on a field at the eastern end of a long arm-like structure which wraps around the southern periphery of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Unlike the remainder of this structure, which is thought to be comprised of perturbed LMC disc material, the aggregate properties of the field indicate a clear connection with the SMC. We find evidence for two stellar populations in the field: one having properties consistent with the outskirts of the main SMC body, and the other significantly perturbed. The perturbed population is on average ∼0.2 dex more metal-rich, and is located ∼7 kpc in front of the dominant population with a total space velocity relative to the SMC centre of ∼230 km s−1 broadly in the direction of the LMC. We speculate on possible origins for this perturbed population, the most plausible of which is that it comprises debris from the inner SMC that has been recently tidally stripped by interactions with the LMC.
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ABSTRACT In this paper, we analyse the metallicity structure of the Magellanic Clouds using parameters derived from the Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3) low-resolution XP (for Blue/Red Photometer) spectra, astrometry, and photometry. We find that the qualitative behaviour of the radial metallicity gradients in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is quite similar, with both of them having a metallicity plateau at intermediate radii and a second at larger radii. The LMC has a first metallicity plateau at [M/H] ≈ −0.8 for 3–7°, while the SMC has one at [M/H] ≈ −1.1 for 3–5°. The outer LMC periphery has a fairly constant metallicity of [M/H] ≈ −1.0 (10–18°), while the outer SMC periphery has a value of [M/H] ≈ −1.3 (6–10°). The sharp drop in metallicity in the LMC at ∼8° and the marked difference in age distributions in these two regions suggest that there were two important evolutionary phases in the LMC. In addition, we find that the Magellanic periphery substructures, likely Magellanic debris, are mostly dominated by LMC material stripped off in old interactions with the SMC. This presents a new picture in contrast with the popular belief that the debris around the clouds had been mostly stripped off from the SMC due to having a lower mass. We perform a detailed analysis for each known substructure and identify its potential origin based on metallicities and motions with respect to each galaxy.
