Abstract.
Recent interactions between the Large and the Small Magellanic
Clouds (LMC and SMC) and the Milky Way can be understood by studying
their recent star formation history. We traced the age of the last
star-formation event (LSFE) in the inner Large and Small Magellanic
Cloud (L&SMC) using the photometric data in V and I passbands from
the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III) and the
Magellanic Cloud Photometric Survey (MCPS). The spatial
distribution of the age of the LSFE shows that the star-formation
has shrunk to within the central regions in the last 100 Myr in both
the galaxies. We detect peaks of star-formation at 0 - 10 Myr and 90
- 100 Myr in the LMC, and 0 - 10 Myr and 50 - 60 Myr in the SMC. We
propose that the HI gas in the LMC has been pulled to the north of
the LMC in the last 200 Myr because of the gravitational attraction
of our Galaxy at the time of perigalactic passage. The shifted HI
gas was preferentially compressed in the north during the time
interval 200 - 40 Myr and in the north-east in the last 40 Myr,
owing to the motion of the LMC in the Galactic halo. The recent
star-formation in the SMC is due to the combined gravitational
effect of the LMC and the perigalactic passage.
Key words:galaxies: Magellanic Clouds -- galaxies: star-formation
-- stars: formation -- galaxies: evolution -- galaxies: kinematics and
dynamics