OGLE Collection of Star Clusters. New Objects in the Magellanic Bridge and the Outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive catalog of 198 star clusters in the Magellanic Bridge and SMC outskirts, including 75 newly identified clusters, mainly young open clusters or associations, based on deep OGLE-IV photometric data.

Contribution

It provides the most complete, homogeneous catalog of star clusters in the Magellanic System, including new discoveries in the Magellanic Bridge and SMC outskirts.

Findings

Identified 198 star cluster candidates in the Magellanic Bridge and SMC outskirts.

75 of these clusters are newly discovered and not listed in previous catalogs.

Most new clusters are young, small, and similar to open clusters or associations.

Abstract

The Magellanic System (MS) encompasses the nearest neighbors of the Milky Way, the Large (LMC) and Small (SMC) Magellanic Clouds, and the Magellanic Bridge (MBR). This system contains a diverse sample of star clusters. Their parameters, such as the spatial distribution, chemical composition and age distribution yield important information about the formation scenario of the whole Magellanic System. Using deep photometric maps compiled in the fourth phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-IV) we present the most complete catalog of star clusters in the Magellanic System ever constructed from homogeneous, long time-scale photometric data. In this second paper of the series, we show the collection of star clusters found in the area of about 360 square degrees in the MBR and in the outer regions of the SMC. Our sample contains 198 visually identified star cluster candidates, 75 of which were not listed in any of the previously published catalogs. The new discoveries are mainly young small open clusters or clusters similar to associations.