We present results from the largest CaII triplet line metallicity study of
Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) field red giant stars to date, involving 3037
objects spread across approximately 37.5 sq. deg., centred on this galaxy. We
find a median metallicity of [Fe/H]=-0.99+/-0.01, with clear evidence for an
abundance gradient of -0.075+/-0.011 dex / deg. over the inner 5 deg. We
interpret the abundance gradient to be the result of an increasing fraction of
young stars with decreasing galacto-centric radius, coupled with a uniform
global age-metallicity relation. We also demonstrate that the age-metallicity
relation for an intermediate age population located 10kpc in front of the NE of
the Cloud is indistinguishable from that of the main body of the galaxy,
supporting a prior conjecture that this is a stellar analogue of the Magellanic
Bridge. The metal poor and metal rich quartiles of our RGB star sample (with
complementary optical photometry from the Magellanic Clouds Photometric Survey)
are predominantly older and younger than approximately 6Gyr, respectively.
Consequently, we draw a link between a kinematical signature, tentatively
associated by us with a disk-like structure, and the upsurges in stellar
genesis imprinted on the star formation history of the central regions of the
SMC. We conclude that the increase in the star formation rate around 5-6Gyr ago
was most likely triggered by an interaction between the SMC and LMC.Comment: To appear in MNRA
