Resolved star formation in the metal-poor star-forming region Magellanic Bridge C.

KALARI, VENU M.; RUBIO, MONICA; SALDAÑO, HUGO P.; BOLATTO, ALBERTO D.; KALARI, VENU M.

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2020 vol. 499 p. 2534 - 2553

0035-8711

Magellanic Bridge C (MB-C) is a metal-poor (∼1/5 Z⊙) low-density star-forming region located 59 kpc away in the Magellanic Bridge, offering a resolved view of the star formation process in conditions different to the Galaxy. From Atacama Large Millimetre Array CO (1-0) observations, we detect molecular clumps associated with candidate young stellar objects (YSOs), pre-main sequence (PMS) stars, and filamentary structure identified in far-infrared imaging. YSOs and PMS stars form in molecular gas having densities between 17 and 200 M⊙ pc-2, and have ages between ≲0.1 and 3 Myr. YSO candidates in MB -C have lower extinction than their Galactic counterparts. Otherwise, our results suggest that the properties and morphologies of molecular clumps, YSOs, and PMS stars in MB -C present no patent differences with respect to their Galactic counterparts, tentatively alluding that the bottleneck to forming stars in regions similar to MB-C is the conversion of atomic gas to molecular.