Gaia Early Data Release 3

Structure and properties of the Magellanic Clouds^★

¹ Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICCUB), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
² Centro de Astronomía – CITEVA, Universidad de Antofagasta, Avenida Angamos 601, Antofagasta 1270300, Chile
³ INAF – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
⁴ Dpto. de Inteligencia Artificial, UNED, c/ Juan del Rosal 16, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁵ Lund Observatory, Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Lund University, Box 43, 22100 Lund, Sweden
⁶ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Landleven 12, 9747 AD Groningen, The Netherlands
⁷ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
⁸ Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
⁹ Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
¹⁰ INAF – Osservatorio astronomico di Padova, Vicolo Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
¹¹ European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Keplerlaan 1, 2201AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
¹² Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, 38000 Grenoble, France
¹³ GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
¹⁴ Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Mönchhofstr. 12-14, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
¹⁵ Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France
¹⁶ Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
¹⁷ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, Chemin des Maillettes 51, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
¹⁸ Aurora Technology for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
¹⁹ Lohrmann Observatory, Technische Universität Dresden, Mommsenstraße 13, 01062 Dresden, Germany
²⁰ European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
²¹ CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
²² Institut d’Astronomie et d’Astrophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles CP 226, Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
²³ F.R.S.-FNRS, Rue d’Egmont 5, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
²⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
²⁵ Laboratoire d’astrophysique de Bordeaux, Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, B18N, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 33615 Pessac, France
²⁶ Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
²⁷ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
²⁸ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy
²⁹ University of Turin, Department of Physics, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
³⁰ DAPCOM for Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICCUB), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
³¹ Royal Observatory of Belgium, Ringlaan 3, 1180 Brussels, Belgium
³² ALTEC S.p.a, Corso Marche, 79, 10146 Torino, Italy
³³ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, Chemin d’Ecogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
³⁴ Sednai Sàrl, Geneva, Switzerland
³⁵ Gaia DPAC Project Office, ESAC, Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
³⁶ Telespazio Vega UK Ltd for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
³⁷ SYRTE, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, LNE, 61 avenue de l’Observatoire 75014 Paris, France
³⁸ National Observatoryof Athens, I. Metaxa and Vas. Pavlou, Palaia Penteli, 15236 Athens, Greece
³⁹ IMCCE, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Univ. Lille, 77 av. Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris, France
⁴⁰ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, via S. Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy
⁴¹ Serco Gestión de Negocios forEuropean Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
⁴² Institut d’Astrophysique et de Géophysique, Université de Liège, 19c, Allée du 6 Août, 4000 Liège, Belgium
⁴³ CRAAG - Centre de Recherche en Astronomie, Astrophysique et Géophysique, Route de l’Observatoire Bp 63 Bouzareah 16340 Algiers, Algeria
⁴⁴ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
⁴⁵ ATG Europe for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
⁴⁶ ETSE Telecomunicación, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Galicia, Spain
⁴⁷ Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, 11 rue de l’Université, 67000 Strasbourg, France
⁴⁸ Kavli Institute for Cosmology Cambridge, Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK
⁴⁹ Department of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Zografos, 15783 Athens, Greece
⁵⁰ Observational Astrophysics, Division of Astronomy and Space Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
⁵¹ CENTRA, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edif. C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁵² Department of Informatics, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, 5019 Donald Bren Hall, 92697-3440 CA Irvine, USA
⁵³ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Ettore Majorana”, Università di Catania, Via S. Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, Italy
⁵⁴ CITIC, Department of Nautical Sciences and Marine Engineering, University of A Coruña, Campus de Elviña s/n, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
⁵⁵ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone (Roma), Italy
⁵⁶ Space Science Data Center - ASI, Via del Politecnico SNC, 00133 Roma, Italy
⁵⁷ Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
⁵⁸ Finnish Geospatial Research Institute FGI, Geodeetinrinne 2, 02430 Masala, Finland
⁵⁹ STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
⁶⁰ Institut UTINAM CNRS UMR6213, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, OSU THETA Franche-Comté Bourgogne, Observatoire de Besançon, BP1615, 25010 Besançon Cedex, France
⁶¹ HE Space Operations BV for European Space Agency (ESA), Keplerlaan 1, 2201AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
⁶² Applied Physics Department, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
⁶³ Thales Services for CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
⁶⁴ Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
⁶⁵ Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands
⁶⁶ CITIC – Department of Computer Science and Information Technologies, University of A Coruña, Campus de Elviña s/n, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
⁶⁷ Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación, c/ Jordi Girona 29, Ed. Nexus II, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
⁶⁸ University of Vienna, Department of Astrophysics, Türkenschanzstraße 17, A1180 Vienna, Austria
⁶⁹ European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁷⁰ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
⁷¹ Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore MD, USA
⁷² GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 698, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, 20771 MD Greenbelt, USA
⁷³ EURIX S.r.l., Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 61, 10128 Torino, Italy
⁷⁴ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., MS 15, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
⁷⁵ HE Space Operations BV for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
⁷⁶ CAUP - Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, Porto, Portugal
⁷⁷ SISSA - Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
⁷⁸ Telespazio for CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
⁷⁹ University of Turin, Department of Computer Sciences, Corso Svizzera 185, 10149 Torino, Italy
⁸⁰ Dpto. de Matemática Aplicada y Ciencias de la Computación, Univ. de Cantabria, ETS Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Avda. de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain
⁸¹ Vera C Rubin Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
⁸² Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, AL10 9AB, Hatfield, UK
⁸³ University of Antwerp, Onderzoeksgroep Toegepaste Wiskunde, Middelheimlaan 1, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
⁸⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico d’Abruzzo, Via Mentore Maggini, 64100 Teramo, Italy
⁸⁵ Instituto de Astronomia, Geofìsica e Ciências Atmosféricas, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 1226, Cidade Universitaria, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
⁸⁶ Mésocentre de calcul de Franche-Comté, Université de Franche-Comté, 16 route de Gray, 25030 Besançon Cedex, France
⁸⁷ SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584CA Utrecht, The Netherlands
⁸⁸ RHEA for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
⁸⁹ ATOS for CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
⁹⁰ School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
⁹¹ Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
⁹² Centre de Données Astronomique de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
⁹³ Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Géoazur, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France
⁹⁴ Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁹⁵ APAVE SUDEUROPE SAS for CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
⁹⁶ Área de Lenguajes y Sistemas Informáticos, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Ctra. de Utrera, km 1. 41013, Sevilla, Spain
⁹⁷ Onboard Space Systems, Luleå University of Technology, Box 848, S-981 28 Kiruna, Sweden
⁹⁸ TRUMPF Photonic Components GmbH, Lise-Meitner-Straße 13, 89081 Ulm, Germany
⁹⁹ IAC – Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Via Láctea s/n, 38200 La Laguna S.C., Tenerife, Spain
¹⁰⁰ Department of Astrophysics, University of La Laguna, Via Láctea s/n, 38200 La Laguna S.C., Tenerife, Spain
¹⁰¹ Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, CNRS Université Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, CC72, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
¹⁰² LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
¹⁰³ Villanova University, Department of Astrophysics and Planetary Science, 800 E Lancaster Avenue, Villanova PA 19085, USA
¹⁰⁴ Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa, Poland
¹⁰⁵ Laboratoire d’astrophysique de Bordeaux, Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, B18N, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 33615 Pessac, France
¹⁰⁶ Université Rennes, CNRS, IPR (Institut de Physique de Rennes) - UMR 6251, 35000 Rennes, France
¹⁰⁷ Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
¹⁰⁸ Las Cumbres Observatory, 6740 Cortona Drive Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117, USA
¹⁰⁹ Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
¹¹⁰ IPAC, Mail Code 100-22, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
¹¹¹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, M/S 169-327, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
¹¹² IRAP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, 9 Av. colonel Roche, BP 44346, 31028 Toulouse Cedex 4, France
¹¹³ Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, MTA Centre of Excellence, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17, 1121 Budapest, Hungary
¹¹⁴ MTA CSFK Lendület Near-Field Cosmology Research Group, Konkoly Observatory, MTA Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17, 1121 Budapest, Hungary
¹¹⁵ ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Physics, 1117, Pázmány Péter sétány 1A, Budapest, Hungary
¹¹⁶ Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
¹¹⁷ Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic
¹¹⁸ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via E. Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate (LC), Italy
¹¹⁹ AKKA for CNES Centre Spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
¹²⁰ Departmento de Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
¹²¹ Vitrociset Belgium for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
¹²² Department of Astrophysical Sciences, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton University, Princeton NJ 08544, USA
¹²³ Departamento de Astrofísica, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), ESA-ESAC. Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n. 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
¹²⁴ naXys, University of Namur, Rempart de la Vierge, 5000 Namur, Belgium
¹²⁵ EPFL – Ecole Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Institute of Mathematics, Station 8 EPFL SB MATH SDS, Lausanne, Switzerland
¹²⁶ H H Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, UK
¹²⁷ Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis bd. Arago, 75014 Paris, France
¹²⁸ Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
¹²⁹ Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Université Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, CC72, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
¹³⁰ Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska ulica 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Received: 3 October 2020
Accepted: 22 November 2020

Abstract

Context. This work is part of the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium papers published with the Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3). It is one of the demonstration papers aiming to highlight the improvements and quality of the newly published data by applying them to a scientific case.

Aims. We use the Gaia EDR3 data to study the structure and kinematics of the Magellanic Clouds. The large distance to the Clouds is a challenge for the Gaia astrometry. The Clouds lie at the very limits of the usability of the Gaia data, which makes the Clouds an excellent case study for evaluating the quality and properties of the Gaia data.

Methods. The basis of our work are two samples selected to provide a representation as clean as possible of the stars of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The selection used criteria based on position, parallax, and proper motions to remove foreground contamination from the Milky Way, and allowed the separation of the stars of both Clouds. From these two samples we defined a series of subsamples based on cuts in the colour-magnitude diagram; these subsamples were used to select stars in a common evolutionary phase and can also be used as approximate proxies of a selection by age.

Results. We compared the Gaia Data Release 2 and Gaia EDR3 performances in the study of the Magellanic Clouds and show the clear improvements in precision and accuracy in the new release. We also show that the systematics still present in the data make the determination of the 3D geometry of the LMC a difficult endeavour; this is at the very limit of the usefulness of the Gaia EDR3 astrometry, but it may become feasible with the use of additional external data. We derive radial and tangential velocity maps and global profiles for the LMC for the several subsamples we defined. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the two planar components of the ordered and random motions are derived for multiple stellar evolutionary phases in a galactic disc outside the Milky Way, showing the differences between younger and older phases. We also analyse the spatial structure and motions in the central region, the bar, and the disc, providing new insightsinto features and kinematics. Finally, we show that the Gaia EDR3 data allows clearly resolving the Magellanic Bridge, and we trace the density and velocity flow of the stars from the SMC towards the LMC not only globally, but also separately for young and evolved populations. This allows us to confirm an evolved population in the Bridge that is slightly shift from the younger population. Additionally, we were able to study the outskirts of both Magellanic Clouds, in which we detected some well-known features and indications of new ones.