Star clusters as tracers of the perturbed southern outer disk of the Large Magellanic Cloud
Abstract
The complex interaction history between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (L/SMC) has left significant imprints on their structural and chemical evolution. In this work, we use a sample of 70 star clusters located in the southern outer disk of the LMC (R > 5∘) to trace the magnitude of these tidal perturbations. Using deep g,i photometry from the SMASH DR2 survey and the Automated Stellar Cluster Analysis (ASTeCA) code, we provide a homogeneous determination of cluster ages, metallicities, and heliocentric distances. Our results show a population with ages ranging from 1.02 to 3.34 Gyr and metallicities between -0.70 and -0.07 dex. We find that clusters at greater heliocentric distances are predominantly located toward the western regions, facing the SMC. Analysis of the vertical distribution reveals an oscillatory variation in the mean height (⟨ Z ⟩) relative to the LMC mid-plane and an increase in intrinsic vertical dispersion (W) toward the West. These geometric features are consistent with a corrugated disk structure induced by recent tidal encounters with the SMC. Chemically, the clusters follow the age-metallicity relationship typical of the LMC and are well-represented by a bursting-type formation model. The lack of chemically distinct clusters suggests that while the interaction was sufficient to dynamically deform and corrugate the outer disk, it did not lead to significant cluster capture from the SMC. We conclude that the southern outer disk remains structurally and chemically part of the LMC, despite being heavily perturbed by tidal forces.
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BibTeX
@misc{chiarpotti2026star,
title = {{Star clusters as tracers of the perturbed southern outer disk of the Large Magellanic Cloud}},
author = {Matías Chiarpotti and Andrés E. Piatti and Denis M. F. Illesca and Roberto Butrón},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.19365},
eprint = {2609.19365},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19365},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Star clusters as tracers of the perturbed southern outer disk of the Large Magellanic Cloud
AU - Matías Chiarpotti
AU - Andrés E. Piatti
AU - Denis M. F. Illesca
AU - Roberto Butrón
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/16
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.19365
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19365
AB - The complex interaction history between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (L/SMC) has left significant imprints on their structural and chemical evolution. In this work, we use a sample of 70 star clusters located in the southern outer disk of the LMC (R > 5^∘) to trace the magnitude of these tidal perturbations. Using deep g,i photometry from the SMASH DR2 survey and the Automated Stellar Cluster Analysis (ASTeCA) code, we provide a homogeneous determination of cluster ages, metallicities, and heliocentric distances. Our results show a population with ages ranging from 1.02 to 3.34 Gyr and metallicities between -0.70 and -0.07 dex. We find that clusters at greater heliocentric distances are predominantly located toward the western regions, facing the SMC. Analysis of the vertical distribution reveals an oscillatory variation in the mean height (⟨ Z ⟩) relative to the LMC mid-plane and an increase in intrinsic vertical dispersion (W) toward the West. These geometric features are consistent with a corrugated disk structure induced by recent tidal encounters with the SMC. Chemically, the clusters follow the age-metallicity relationship typical of the LMC and are well-represented by a bursting-type formation model. The lack of chemically distinct clusters suggests that while the interaction was sufficient to dynamically deform and corrugate the outer disk, it did not lead to significant cluster capture from the SMC. We conclude that the southern outer disk remains structurally and chemically part of the LMC, despite being heavily perturbed by tidal forces.
ER -