Scylla. V. Constraints on the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Bursts and the Interaction History of the Magellanic Clouds from Their Resolved Stellar Populations

The Astrophysical Journal 2026 Open access

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Authors: Clare Burhenne, Kristen B. W. McQuinn, Roger E. Cohen, Claire E. Murray, Ekta Patel, Benjamin F. Williams, Christina W. Lindberg, Petia Yanchulova Merica-Jones, Karl D. Gordon, Yumi Choi, Andrew E. Dolphin, Julia Román-Duval
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae13af
Cited by: 3
References: 91

Abstract

Abstract We measure the star formation histories (SFHs) from the Scylla survey in ∼98,000 pc 2 and ∼75,000 pc 2 of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), respectively, using deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging (80% complete to > 1 mag below the ancient main-sequence turnoff, ∼25.1 and 26.0 mag in F475W and F814W) from 74 pointings. We group the fields into eight subregions in the SMC and seven in the LMC. We use the birth rate parameter to identify bursts of star formation and measure their properties in each subregion. Our methodology provides a standardized framework for burst identification and reveals both broad and fine burst characteristics. We identify global and local bursts, defined as those occurring in ≥half or

Fields of Study & Subjects

Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Stellar planetary and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysical Research

Publication details

Journal / source
The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Volume
997
Issue
1
Pages
23–23
Publication date
12 January 2026
Language
EN