Dating star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud by means of integrated spectra^*

¹ Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Laprida 854, 5000 Córdoba, Argentina e-mail: andrea@mail.oac.uncor.edu, claria@mail.oac.uncor.edu
² Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Caixa Postal 15051, CEP 91501-970, Porto Alegre RS, Brazil e-mail: bica@if.ufrgs.br
³ Instituto Astronomico e Geofisico da USP, CP  3386, São Paulo 01060-970, SP, Brazil e-mail: dutra@andromeda.iagusp.usp.br

Corresponding author: A. V. Ahumada, andrea@mail.oac.uncor.edu

Received: 4 June 2002
Accepted: 19 July 2002

Abstract

In this study flux-calibrated integrated spectra in the range (3600–6800) Å are presented for 16 concentrated star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), approximately half of which constitute unstudied objects. We have estimated ages and foreground interstellar reddening values from the comparison of the line strengths and continuum distribution of the cluster spectra with those of template cluster spectra with known parameters. Most of the sample clusters are young blue clusters (6–50 Myr), while L 28, NGC 643 and L 114 are found to be intermediate-age clusters (1–6 Gyr). One well known SMC cluster (NGC 416) was observed for comparison purposes. The sample includes clusters in the surroundings and main body of the SMC, and the derived foreground reddening values are in the range . The present data also make up a cluster spectral library at SMC metallicity.