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

TL;DR

This study investigates star formation in the metal-poor, low-density Magellanic Bridge C, revealing molecular gas properties and young stellar objects, and suggesting that atomic-to-molecular gas conversion is the main bottleneck.

Contribution

It provides the first resolved view of star formation in a metal-poor, low-density environment outside the Galaxy, comparing molecular clumps and young stars to Galactic counterparts.

Findings

YSOs and PMS stars form in low-density molecular gas

YSO candidates have lower extinction than Galactic counterparts

Molecular clump properties are similar to those in the Milky Way

Abstract

Magellanic Bridge C (MB-C) is a metal-poor ($\sim$1/5 $Z_{\odot}$) 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 to 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 17-200 $M_{\odot}$ pc$^{-2}$, and have ages between $\lesssim$0.1-3 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.