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Register a new userA Review of the Distance and Structure of the Large Magellanic Cloud
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David R. Alves
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The average of 14 recent measurements of the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) implies a true modulus of 18.50 +- 0.02 mag, and demonstrates a trend in the past 2 years of convergence toward a standard value. The distance indicators reviewed are the red clump, the tip of the red giant branch, Cepheid, RR Lyrae, and Mira variable stars, cluster main-sequence fitting, supernova 1987A, and eclipsing binaries. The eclipsing binaries yield a consistent distance on average; however, the internal scatter is twice as large as the average measurement error. I discuss parameters of LMC structure that pertain to distance indicators, and speculate that warps discovered using the color of the clump are not really warps.
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I review our understanding of the structure and kinematics of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), with a particular focus on recent results. This is an important topic, given the status of the LMC as a benchmark for studies of microlensing, tidal interactions, stellar populations, and the extragalactic distance scale. I address the observed morphology and kinematics of the LMC; the angles under which we view the LMC disk; its in-plane and vertical structure; the LMC self-lensing contribution to the total microlensing optical depth; the LMC orbit around the Milky Way; and the origin and interpretation of the Magellanic Stream. Our understanding of these topics is evolving rapidly, in particular due to the many large photometric and kinematic datasets that have become available in the last few years. It has now been established that: the LMC is considerably elongated in its disk plane; the LMC disk is thicker than previously believed; the LMC disk may have warps and twists; the LMC may have a pressure-supported halo; the inner regions of the LMC show unexpected complexities in their vertical structure; and precession and nutation of the LMC disk plane contribute measurably to the observed line-of-sight velocity field. However, many open questions remain and more work is needed before we can expect to converge on a fully coherent structural, dynamical and evolutionary picture that explains all observed features of the LMC.
Hubble Space Telescope V,I photometry of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud Cluster NGC 1866 shows a well defined cluster main sequence down to V=25 mag, with little contamination from field or foreground stars. We use the main sequence fitting procedure to link the distance of NGC 1866 to the Hipparcos determination of the distance for the Hyades MS stars, making use of evolutionary prescriptions to allow for differences in the chemical composition. On this basis we find a true distance modulus for NGC 1866 of 18.35 +/- 0.05 mag. If the cluster is assumed to lie in the LMC plane then the LMC modulus is 0.02 mag less.
We derive structural parameters and evidence for extended tidal debris from star count and preliminary standard candle analyses of the Large Magellanic Cloud based on Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) data. The full-sky coverage and low extinction in K_s presents an ideal sample for structural analysis of the LMC. The star count surface densities and deprojected inclination for both young and older populations are consistent with previous work. We use the full areal coverage and large LMC diameter to Galactrocentric distance ratio to infer the same value for the disk inclination based on perspective. A standard candle analysis based on a sample of carbon long-period variables (LPV) in a narrow color range, 1.6<J-K_s<1.7 allows us to probe the three-dimensional structure of the LMC along the line of sight. The intrinsic brightness distribution of carbon LPVs in selected fields implies that $sigma_Msimlt 0.2^m$ for this color cut. The sample provides a {it direct} determination of the LMC disk inclination: $42.3^circpm 7.2^circ$. Distinct features in the photometric distribution suggest several distinct populations. We interpret this as the presence of an extended stellar component of the LMC, which may be as thick as 14 kpc, and intervening tidal debris at roughly 15 kpc from the LMC.
Nine supergiant shells (SGSs) have been identified in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) based on H-alpha images, and twenty-three SGSs have been reported based on HI 21-cm line observations, but these sets do not always identify the same structures. We have examined the physical structure of the optically identified SGSs using HI channel maps and P-V diagrams to analyze the gas kinematics. There is good evidence for seven of the nine optically identified SGSs to be true shells. Of these seven H-alpha SGSs, four are the ionized inner walls of HI SGSs, while three are an ionized portion of a larger and more complex HI structure. All of the H-alpha SGSs are identified as such because they have OB associations along the periphery or in the center, with younger OB associations more often found along the periphery. After roughly 12 Myrs, if no new OB associations have been formed a SGS will cease to be identifiable at visible wavelengths. Thus, the presence and location of ionizing sources is the main distinction between shells seen only in HI and those also seen in H-alpha. Based on our analysis, H-alpha observations alone cannot unambiguously identify SGSs, especially in distant galaxies.
The Hipparcos I-band calibration of horizontal-branch red clump giants as standard candles has lead to controversial results for the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). In an attempt to properly ascertain the corrections for interstellar extinction and clump age and metallicity, we analyze new multi-wavelength luminosity functions of the LMC red clump. Our photometry dataset in the K-band was obtained with the SOFI infrared imager at the European Southern Observatorys New Technology Telescope. In the V and I passbands, we employ data from WFPC2 onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. The LMC red clump is first identified in a K,(V-K) color-magnitude diagram. Our luminosity functions yield apparent magnitudes of K = 16.974, I = 18.206, and V = 19.233 (+- 0.009_r +- 0.02_s; random and systematic error, respectively). Compared directly to the Hipparcos red clump calibration (without a correction for age and metallicity), the LMC clump measurements imply a negative interstellar reddening correction. This unphysical result indicates a population difference between clumps. A modified calibration based on theoretical modeling yields an average reddening correction of E(B-V) = 0.089 +- 0.015_r, and a true LMC distance modulus of 18.493 +- 0.033_r +- 0.03_s. We reconcile our result with the short distance previously derived from OGLE II red clump data.
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