Ae/Be stars of Magellanic Bridge in JHKs

Using the near-infrared camera SIRIUS and the 1.4m telescope IRSF, we surveyed ~3.0{deg}x1.3{deg} (24{deg}<~RA<~36{deg}, -75.0{deg}<~DE<~-73.7{deg}) in the J, H, and Ks bands. On the basis of colors and magnitudes, about 200 Herbig Ae/Be star candidates are selected.

Considering the contaminations by miscellaneous sources, such as foreground stars and early-type dwarfs in the Magellanic Bridge, we estimate that about 80 (#40%) of the candidates are likely to be Herbig Ae/Be stars. We also found one concentration of the candidates at the young star cluster NGC 796, strongly suggesting the existence of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars in the Magellanic Bridge. This is the first detection of PMS star candidates in the Magellanic Bridge, and if they are genuine PMS stars, this could be direct evidence of recent star formation.