No Arabic abstract
Recent studies have shown that an extended main-sequence turn-off is a common feature among intermediate-age clusters (1--3 Gyr) in the Magellanic Clouds. Multiple-generation star formation and stellar rotation or interacting binaries have been proposed to explain the feature. However, it remains controversial in the field of stellar populations. Here we present the main results of an ongoing star formation among older star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Cross-matching the positions of star clusters and young stellar objects has yielded 15 matches with 7 located in the cluster center. We demonstrate that this is not by chance by estimating local number densities of young stellar objects for each star cluster. This method is not based on isochrone fitting, which leads to some uncertainties in age estimation and methods of background subtraction. We also find no direct correlation between atomic hydrogen and the clusters. This suggests that gas accretion for fueling the star formation must be happening in situ. These findings support for the multiple-generations scenario as a plausible explanation for the extended main-sequence turn-off.
We present new observations of 34 YSO candidates in the SMC. The anchor of the analysis is a set of Spitzer-IRS spectra, supplemented by groundbased 3-5 micron spectra, Spitzer and NIR photometry, optical spectroscopy and radio data. The sources SEDs and spectral indices are consistent with embedded YSOs; prominent silicate absorption is observed in the spectra of at least ten sources, silicate emission is observed towards four sources. PAH emission is detected towards all but two sources. Based on band ratios (in particular the strength of the 11.3 micron and the weakness of the 8.6 micron bands) PAH emission towards SMC YSOs is dominated by predominantly small neutral grains. Ice absorption is observed towards fourteen sources in the SMC. The comparison of H2O and CO2 ice column densities for SMC, LMC and Galactic samples suggests that there is a significant H2O column density threshold for the detection of CO2 ice. This supports the scenario proposed by Oliveira et al. (2011), where the reduced shielding in metal-poor environments depletes the H2O column density in the outer regions of the YSO envelopes. No CO ice is detected towards the SMC sources. Emission due to pure-rotational 0-0 transitions of H2 is detected towards the majority of SMC sources, allowing us to estimate rotational temperatures and column densities. All but one source are spectroscopically confirmed as SMC YSOs. Of the 33 YSOs identified in the SMC, 30 sources populate different stages of massive stellar evolution. The remaining three sources are classified as intermediate-mass YSOs with a thick dusty disc and a tenuous envelope still present. We propose one of the sources is a D-type symbiotic system, based on the presence of Raman, H and He emission lines in the optical spectrum, and silicate emission in the IRS-spectrum. This would be the first dust-rich symbiotic system identified in the SMC. (abridged)
We present spectroscopic observations of a sample of 15 embedded young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). These observations were obtained with the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) as part of the SAGE-Spec Legacy program. We analyze the two prominent ice bands in the IRS spectral range: the bending mode of CO_2 ice at 15.2 micron and the ice band between 5 and 7 micron that includes contributions from the bending mode of water ice at 6 micron amongst other ice species. The 5-7 micron band is difficult to identify in our LMC sample due to the conspicuous presence of PAH emission superimposed onto the ice spectra. We identify water ice in the spectra of two sources; the spectrum of one of those sources also exhibits the 6.8 micron ice feature attributed to ammonium and methanol. We model the CO_2 band in detail, using the combination of laboratory ice profiles available in the literature. We find that a significant fraction (> 50%) of CO_2 ice is locked in a water-rich component, consistent with what is observed for Galactic sources. The majority of the sources in the LMC also require a pure-CO_2 contribution to the ice profile, evidence of thermal processing. There is a suggestion that CO_2 production might be enhanced in the LMC, but the size of the available sample precludes firmer conclusions. We place our results in the context of the star formation environment in the LMC.
(Abridged) Photometry of archival Spitzer observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) are used to search for young stellar objects (YSOs). Simple mid-infrared selection criteria were used to exclude most normal and evolved stars and background galaxies. We identify a sample of 2,910 sources in the LMC that could potentially be YSOs. We then simultaneously considered images and photometry from the optical through mid-IR wavelengths to assess the source morphology, spectral energy distribution (SED), and the surrounding interstellar environment to determine the most likely nature of each source. From this examination of the initial sample, we suggest 1,172 sources are most likely YSOs and 1,075 probable background galaxies, consistent with expectations based on SWIRE survey data. Spitzer IRS observations of 269 of the brightest YSOs from our sample have confirmed that ~>95% are indeed YSOs. A comprehensive search for YSOs in the LMC has also been carried out by the SAGE team. There are three major differences between these two searches. (1) In the common region of color-magnitude space, ~850 of our 1,172 probable YSOs are missed in the SAGE YSO catalog because their conservative point source identification criteria have excluded YSOs superposed on complex diffuse emission. (2) About 20-30% of the YSOs identified by the SAGE team are sources we classify as background galaxies. (3) the SAGE YSO catalog identifies YSO in parts of color-magnitude space that we excluded and thus contains more evolved or fainter YSOs missed by our analysis. Finally, the mid-IR luminosity functions of our most likely YSO candidates in the LMC can be well described by N(L) propto L^-1, which is consistent with the Salpeter initial mass function if a mass-luminosity relation of L propto M^2.4 is adopted.
The Magellanic System (MS), consisting of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and the Magellanic Bridge (MBR), contains diverse sample of star clusters. Their spatial distribution, ages and chemical abundances may provide important information about the history of formation of the whole System. We use deep photometric maps derived from the images collected during the fourth phase of The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-IV) to construct the most complete catalog of star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud using the homogeneous photometric data. In this paper we present the collection of star clusters found in the area of about 225 square degrees in the outer regions of the LMC. Our sample contains 679 visually identified star cluster candidates, 226 of which were not listed in any of the previously published catalogs. The new clusters are mainly young small open clusters or clusters similar to associations.
The aim of this study is to understand the chemical conditions of ices around embedded young stellar objects (YSOs) in the metal-poor Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We performed near-infrared (2.5-5 micron) spectroscopic observations toward 12 massive embedded YSOs and their candidates in the LMC using the Infrared Camera (IRC) onboard AKARI. We estimated the column densities of the H2O, CO2, and CO ices based on their 3.05, 4.27, and 4.67 micron absorption features, and we investigated the correlation between ice abundances and physical properties of YSOs.The ice absorption features of H2O, CO2, 13CO2, CO, CH3OH, and possibly XCN are detected in the spectra. In addition, hydrogen recombination lines and PAH emission bands are detected toward the majority of the targets. The derived typical CO2/H2O ice ratio of our samples (~0.36 +- 0.09) is greater than that of Galactic massive YSOs (~0.17 +- 0.03), while the CO/H2O ice ratio is comparable. It is shown that the CO2 ice abundance does not correlate with the observed characteristics of YSOs; the strength of hydrogen recombination line and the total luminosity. Likewise, clear no correlation is seen between the CO ice abundance and YSO characteristics, but it is suggested that the CO ice abundance of luminous samples is significantly lower than in other samples.The systematic difference in the CO2 ice abundance around the LMCs massive YSOs, which was suggested by previous studies, is confirmed with the new near-infrared data. We suggest that the strong ultraviolet radiation field and/or the high dust temperature in the LMC are responsible for the observed high abundance of the CO2 ice. It is suggested that the internal stellar radiation does not play an important role in the evolution of the CO2 ice around a massive YSO, while more volatile molecules like CO are susceptible to the effect of the stellar radiation.