| Abstract : | In this study, we used the GAIA DR3 data to characterize the cluster population in the MCs. The clusters in the MCs is compiled from Bica et al. (2020) and several others in the recent literature. We used kinematical and photometric selection criteria from Gaia to filter the samples. We developed a statistical algorithm to remove filed stars from the cluster region. We used single to multiple comparison field regions and retrieved the most probable cluster members. Using Padova-Parsec stellar evolutionary models, we performed an iterative least square method to estimate age and reddening of ~2000 clusters that satisfied our criteria. The spatio-temporal map of age and reddening were obtained for clusters in both the Clouds.
We traced the correlated peaks of cluster formation in LMC and SMC to be at ~ 1.6 Gyr and 630 Myr, where the first peak is likely to be due to the LMC-SMC interaction. The directional propagation of cluster formation is noted from the South to North of the LMC over the last 2.8 Gyr. The radial shrinkage of cluster formation over the North, South and East directions of the LMC is established from a radius of 8 to 4 deg. This is likely to be due to the loss of gas from the LMC to the Magellanic stream, through stripping as well as outflows. We find that the pattern on the LMC bar appears not before 800-630Myr in the cluster distribution, thereby establishing that the LMC bar is likely to have formed about 800 Myr ago. The second cluster formation peak in the LMC likely to due to the bar formation driven by the internal gas dynamics. We discuss the impact of these results on the interaction and evolution of the MCs.
|
