The star formation histories of two northern LMC fields |
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| Authors: | A E Dolphin |
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| Institution: | National Optical Astronomy Observatories, PO Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726, USA |
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| Abstract: | Ground-based UBV photometry of two fields in the northern disc of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is presented. A distance modulus of ( m ? M )0=18.41±0.04 and an extinction of A V =0.30±0.05 have been calculated for these fields. The measurable star formation history of the LMC began no more than 12 Gyr ago with a strong star‐forming episode with Fe/H]=?1.63±0.10 that accounted for approximately half (by mass) of the total star formation of the LMC in the first 3 Gyr. The data do not give accurate star formation rates during intermediate ages, but there appears to have been a recent increase in the star formation rate in these fields, beginning approximately 2.5 Gyr ago, with the current metallicity in the region being Fe/H]=?0.38±0.10. The two fields have had very similar star formation rates until 200 Myr ago, at which point one shows a large increase. |
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| Keywords: | Magellanic Clouds galaxies: stellar content |
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