Abstract:
We study the distribution of fundamental-mode Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds as a function
of their positions and ages using the data from the OGLE IV survey. The ages of the Cepheids are determined
through well known period–age relations for the LMC and SMC Cepheids, which are used to understand the
star-formation scenario in the Magellanic Clouds. The age distributions of the Cepheids in LMC and SMC show
prominent peaks around 158+46
−35 Myr and 219+63
−49 Myr, respectively. This indicates that a major star-formation
event took place in the Magellanic Clouds about 200 Myr ago. It is believed that this episode of enhanced
star formation might have been triggered by a close encounter between the two components of the Magellanic
Clouds or due to a possible tidal interaction between the Magellanic Clouds and Milky Way galaxy during one
of its pericentric passages around the Milky Way. Cepheids are found to be asymmetrically distributed in both
the LMC and SMC in an elongated manner. A high spatial density clumpy structure is found to be located
towards the eastern side of the LMC and the south-west direction of the SMC from their respective galactic
centers.
