Swift Ultraviolet Survey of the Magellanic Clouds (SUMaC). I. Shape of the Ultraviolet Dust Extinction Law and Recent Star Formation History of the Small Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution ultraviolet data from the Swift telescope to analyze the dust extinction law and recent star formation history of the Small Magellanic Cloud, revealing a universal steep extinction curve and multiple star formation peaks.

Contribution

First detailed UV survey of the SMC combining multi-wavelength data to constrain dust properties and star formation history using spectral energy distribution modeling.

Findings

Most of the SMC exhibits a 2175Å dust bump with spatial variation.

The extinction curve in the SMC is universally steeper than the Galactic curve.

Star formation rate peaks at 6-10 Myr, 30-80 Myr, and around 400 Myr.

Abstract

We present the first results from the Swift Ultraviolet Survey of the Magellanic Clouds (SUMaC), the highest resolution ultraviolet (UV) survey of the Magellanic Clouds yet completed. In this paper, we focus on the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). When combined with multi-wavelength optical and infrared observations, the three near-UV filters on the Swift Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope are conducive to measuring the shape of the dust extinction curve and the strength of the 2175\AA\ dust bump. We divide the SMC into UV-detected star-forming regions and large 200" (58~pc) pixels and then model the spectral energy distributions using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to constrain the ages, masses, and dust curve properties. We find that the majority of the SMC has a 2175\AA\ dust bump, which is larger to the northeast and smaller to the southwest, and that the extinction curve is universally steeper than the Galactic curve. We also derive a star formation history and find evidence for peaks in the star formation rate at 6-10 Myr, 30-80 Myr, and 400 Myr, the latter two of which are consistent with previous work.