The VMC Survey - XXIV. Signatures of tidally stripped stellar populations from the inner Small Magellanic Cloud

Abstract

We study the luminosity function of intermediate-age red-clump stars using\ndeep, near-infrared photometric data covering $\\sim$ 20 deg$^2$ located\nthroughout the central part of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), comprising the\nmain body and the galaxy's eastern wing, based on observations obtained with\nthe VISTA Survey of the Magellanic Clouds (VMC). We identified regions which\nshow a foreground population ($\\sim$11.8 $\\pm$ 2.0 kpc in front of the main\nbody) in the form of a distance bimodality in the red-clump distribution. The\nmost likely explanation for the origin of this feature is tidal stripping from\nthe SMC rather than the extended stellar haloes of the Magellanic Clouds and/or\ntidally stripped stars from the Large Magellanic Cloud. The homogeneous and\ncontinuous VMC data trace this feature in the direction of the Magellanic\nBridge and, particularly, identify (for the first time) the inner region\n($\\sim$ 2 -- 2.5 kpc from the centre) from where the signatures of interactions\nstart becoming evident. This result provides observational evidence of the\nformation of the Magellanic Bridge from tidally stripped material from the SMC.\n