The Age Distributions of Clusters and Field Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud -- Implications for Star Formation Histories

Abstract

Differences between the inferred star formation histories (SFHs) of star clusters and field stars seem to suggest distinct star formation processes for the two. The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is an example of a galaxy where such a discrepancy is observed. We model the observed age distributions of the SMC clusters and field stars using a new population synthesis code, SPACE, that includes stellar evolution, infant mortality and cluster dissolution. We find that the two observed age distributions can be explained by a single SFH, thus eliminating the need to assume two separate mechanisms for star formation.