OB stars in the Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream

TL;DR

This study investigates OB-type star candidates in the Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream to explore recent star formation and understand the structure's formation and interaction with the Milky Way.

Contribution

First spectroscopic analysis of OB-star candidates in the LA, providing evidence for recent star formation in this gaseous tidal structure.

Findings

OB-star candidates found in three clumps near high HI density regions

Potential evidence of recent star formation in the Leading Arm

Insights into the interaction between the Magellanic Stream and the Milky Way

Abstract

We present our spectroscopic program aimed to study some new interesting features recently discovered in the Magellanic Cloud System. These were revealed by the spatial distribution of OB-type candidate stars, selected based on UV, optical and IR photometry and proper motions from existing large-area catalogs. As a pilot study of our project, we are studying OB-star candidates in the Leading Arm (LA) of the Magellanic Stream, a gaseous tidal structure with no stellar counterpart known so far. Our targets group in three clumps near regions of high HI density in the LA. If confirmed, these young stars would evidence recent star formation in the LA, and they would help better understand and constrain the formation of the LA and its interactions with the Milky Way.