The VMC Survey -- XXXIV. Morphology of Stellar Populations in the Magellanic Clouds

The Magellanic Clouds are nearby dwarf irregular galaxies whose morphologies show different properties when traced by different stellar populations, making them an important laboratory for studying galaxy morphologies. We study the morphology of the Magellanic Clouds using data from the VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds system (VMC). We used about $10$ and $2.5$ million sources across an area of $\sim105$ deg$^2$ and $\sim42$ deg$^2$ towards the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud (LMC and SMC), respectively. We estimated median ages of stellar populations occupying different regions of the near-infrared ($J-K_\mathrm{s}, K_\mathrm{s}$) colour-magnitude diagram. Morphological maps were produced and detailed features in the central regions were characterised for the first time with bins corresponding to a spatial resolution of $0.13$ kpc (LMC) and $0.16$ kpc (SMC). In the LMC, we find that main sequence stars show coherent structures that grow with age and trace the multiple spiral arms of the galaxy, star forming regions become dimmer as we progress in age, while supergiant stars are centrally concentrated. Intermediate-age stars, despite tracing a regular and symmetrical morphology, show central clumps and hints of spiral arms. In the SMC, young main sequence stars depict a broken bar. Intermediate-age populations show signatures of elongation towards the Magellanic Bridge that can be attributed to the LMC-SMC interaction $\sim200$ Myr ago. They also show irregular central features suggesting that the inner SMC has also been influenced by tidal interactions.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 20 pages, 12 figures and 2 table

The VMC survey. XLV. Proper motion of the outer LMC and the impact of the SMC

Context. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the most luminous satellite galaxy of the Milky Way and owing to its companion, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), represents an excellent laboratory to study the interaction of dwarf galaxies. Aims. The aim of this study is to investigate the kinematics of the outer regions of the LMC by using stellar proper motions to understand the impact of interactions, e.g. with the SMC about 250 Myr ago. Methods. We calculate proper motions using multi-epoch Ks-band images from the VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds system (VMC). Observations span a time baseline of 2−5 yr. We combine the VMC data with data from the Gaia early Data Release 3 and introduce a new method to distinguish between Magellanic and Milky Way stars based on a machine learning algorithm. This new technique enables a larger and cleaner sample selection of fainter sources as it reaches below the red clump of the LMC. Results. We investigate the impact of the SMC on the rotational field of the LMC and find hints of stripped SMC debris. The south east region of the LMC shows a slow rotational speed compared to the overall rotation. N-body simulations suggest that this could be caused by a fraction of stripped SMC stars, located in that particular region, that move opposite to the expected rotation

The VMC survey – XLVIII. Classical cepheids unveil the 3D geometry of the LMC

We employed the VISTA near-infrared YJK(s) survey of the Magellanic System (VMC) to analyse the Y, J, and K-s light curves of delta Cepheid stars (DCEPs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Our sample consists of 4408 objects accounting for 97 per cent of the combined list of OGLE IV and Gaia DR2 DCEPs. We determined a variety of period-luminosity (PL) and period-Wesenheit PW relationships for Fundamental (F) and First Overtone (1O) pulsators. We discovered for the first time a break in these relationships for 1O DCEPs at P = 0.58 d. We derived relative individual distances for DCEPs in the LMC with a precision of similar to 1 kpc, calculating the position angle of the line of nodes and inclination of the galaxy: theta = 145.6 +/- 1.0 deg and i = 25.7 +/- 0.4 deg. The bar and the disc are seen under different viewing angles. We calculated the ages of the pulsators, finding two main episodes of DCEP formation lasting similar to 40 Myr which happened 93 and 159 Myr ago. Likely as a result of its past interactions with the SMC, the LMC shows a non-planar distribution, with considerable structuring: the bar is divided into two distinct portions, the eastern and the western displaced by more than 1 kpc from each other. Similar behaviour is shown by the spiral arms. The LMC disc appears 'flared' and thick, with a disc scale height of h similar to 0.97 kpc. This feature can be explained by strong tidal interactions with the Milky Way and/or the Small Magellanic Cloud or past merging events with now disrupted LMC satellites

Stellar substructures in the periphery of the magellanic clouds with the VISTA hemisphere survey from the red clump and other tracers

We study the morphology of the stellar periphery of the Magellanic Clouds in search of substructure using near–infrared imaging data from the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS). Based on the selection of different stellar populations using the (J − Ks, Ks) colour–magnitude diagram, we confirm the presence of substructures related to the interaction history of the Clouds and find new substructures on the eastern side of the LMC disc which may be owing to the influence of the Milky Way, and on the northern side of the SMC, which is probably associated to the ellipsoidal structure of the galaxy. We also study the luminosity function of red clump stars in the SMC and confirm the presence of a bi–modal distance distribution, in the form of a foreground population. We find that this bi–modality is still detectable in the eastern regions of the galaxy out to a 10○ distance from its centre. Additionally, a background structure is detected in the North between 7○ and 10○ from the centre which might belong to the Counter Bridge, and a foreground structure is detected in the South between 6○ and 8○ from the centre which might be linked to the Old Bridge

The VMC survey – XLI. Stellar proper motions within the Small Magellanic Cloud

We used data from the near-infrared Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) survey of the Magellanic Cloud system (VMC) to measure proper motions (PMs) of stars within the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The data analysed in this study comprise 26 VMC tiles, covering a total contiguous area on the sky of ∼40 deg2. Using multi-epoch observations in the Ks band over time baselines between 13 and 38 months, we calculated absolute PMs with respect to ∼130 000 background galaxies. We selected a sample of ∼2160 000 likely SMC member stars to model the centre-of-mass motion of the galaxy. The results found for three different choices of the SMC centre are in good agreement with recent space-based measurements. Using the systemic motion of the SMC, we constructed spatially resolved residual PM maps and analysed for the first time the internal kinematics of the intermediate-age/old and young stellar populations separately. We found outward motions that point either towards a stretching of the galaxy or stripping of its outer regions. Stellar motions towards the North might be related to the ‘Counter Bridge’ behind the SMC. The young populations show larger PMs in the region of the SMC Wing, towards the young Magellanic Bridge. In the older populations, we further detected a coordinated motion of stars away from the SMC in the direction of the Old Bridge as well as a stream towards the SMC