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The VMC survey - XLVI. Stellar proper motions in the centre of the Large Magellanic Cloud

Niederhofer, Florian; Cioni, Maria-Rosa L.; Schmidt, Thomas; Bekki, Kenji; de Grijs, Richard; Ivanov, Valentin D.; Oliveira, Joana M.; Ripepi, Vincenzo; Subramanian, Smitha; Van Loon, Jacco Th

The VMC survey - XLVI. Stellar proper motions in the centre of the Large Magellanic Cloud Thumbnail


Authors

Florian Niederhofer

Maria-Rosa L. Cioni

Thomas Schmidt

Kenji Bekki

Richard de Grijs

Valentin D. Ivanov

Vincenzo Ripepi

Smitha Subramanian



Abstract

We present proper motion (PM) measurements within the central region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), using near-infrared data from the VISTA survey of the Magellanic Cloud system (VMC). This work encompasses 18 VMC tiles covering a total sky area of similar to 28 deg(2). We computed absolute stellar PMs from multiepoch observations in the K-s filter over time baselines between similar to 12 and 47 months. Our final catalogue contains similar to 6322 000 likely LMC member stars with derived PMs. We employed a simple flat-rotating disc model to analyse and interpret the PM data. We found a stellar centre of rotation (alpha(0) = 79.95 degrees(+0.22)(-0.23), delta(0) = -69.31 degrees(+0.12)(-0.11)) that is in agreement with that resulting from Hubble Space Telescope data. The inferred viewing angles of the LMC disc (i = 33.5 degrees(+1.2)(-1.3), Theta = 129.8 degrees(+1.9)(-1.9)) are in good agreement with values from the literature but suggest a higher inclination of the central parts of the LMC. Our data confirm a higher rotation amplitude for the young (less than or similar to 0.5 Gyr) stars compared to the intermediate-age/old (greater than or similar to 1 Gyr) population, which can be explained by asymmetric drift. We constructed spatially resolved velocity maps of the intermediate-age/old and young populations. Intermediate-age/old stars follow elongated orbits parallel to the bar's major axis, providing first observational evidence for x(1) orbits within the LMC bar. In the innermost regions, the motions show more chaotic structures. Young stars show motions along a central filamentary bar structure.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 8, 2022
Online Publication Date Apr 14, 2022
Publication Date Apr 14, 2022
Publicly Available Date May 30, 2023
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 512
Issue 4
Pages 5423-5439
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac712
Keywords surveys; proper motion; stars: kinematics and dynamics; galaxies: individual: LMC; Magellanic Clouds
Publisher URL https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/512/4/5423/6554251

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