Scylla IV: Intrinsic Stellar Properties and Line-of-Sight Dust Extinction Measurements Towards 1.5 Million Stars in the SMC and LMC

TL;DR

This study analyzes the stellar and dust extinction properties of over 1.5 million stars in the SMC and LMC using multi-band Hubble data, revealing insights into stellar populations and dust distribution.

Contribution

It presents a large catalog of stellar properties and extinction measurements derived from Bayesian SED fitting, with validation and comparison to dust tracers in the Magellanic Clouds.

Findings

Detected stars with masses as low as 0.6 solar masses.

Identified a star formation jump around 6 Gyr ago.

Found extinction distributions follow a log-normal pattern.

Abstract

By analyzing the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of resolved stars in nearby galaxies, we can constrain their stellar properties and line-of-sight dust extinction. From the Scylla survey, we obtain ultraviolet to near-infrared photometry from Wide Field Camera 3 onboard the {\it Hubble Space Telescope} for more than 1.5 million stars in the SMC and LMC. We use the Bayesian Extinction and Stellar Tool (BEAST) to analyze the multi-band SEDs of these sources and characterize their initial masses, ages, metallicities, distances, and line-of-sight extinction properties (e.g.~$A_V$, $R_V$). We apply quality cuts and perform validation simulations to construct a catalog of over 550,000 stars with high-reliability SED fits, which we use to analyze the stellar content and extinction properties of the SMC and LMC. We detect stars with masses as low as 0.6 $M_{\odot}$. BEAST stellar age distributions show a jump in observed stars around 6 Gyrs ago, which agrees with star-formation histories. Extinctions ($A_V$) in both galaxies follow a log-normal distribution. We compare $A_V$ with ancillary gas and dust tracers like $HI$, $H_\alpha$, and far infrared (FIR) dust emission and find positive correlations on a field-by-field basis. We convert observed $A_V$ to predicted dust surface densities using the Draine et. al. (2014) model and find $A_V$-based dust surface densities are a factor of $\sim$2.5 lower than observed FIR-based dust surface densities, a correction factor similar to other studies.