The MAGellanic Inter-Cloud project (MAGIC) I: Evidence for
  intermediate-age stellar populations in between the Magellanic Clouds
  The origin of the gas in between the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) -- known as the
`Magellanic Bridge' (MB) -- is puzzling. Numerical simulations suggest that the
MB formed from tidally stripped gas and stars in a recent interaction between
the MCs. However, the apparent lack of stripped intermediate- or old-age stars
associated with the MB is at odds with this picture. In this paper, we present
the first results from the MAGellanic Inter-Cloud program (MAGIC) aimed at
probing the stellar populations in the inter-cloud region. We present
observations of the stellar populations in two large fields located in between
the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC), secured using the WFI camera
on the 2.2 m telescope in La Silla. Using a synthetic color-magnitude diagram
(CMD) technique, we present the first quantitative evidence for the presence of
intermediate-age and old stars in the inter-Cloud region. The intermediate-age
stars -- that make up ~28% of all stars in the region -- are not present in
fields at a similar distance from the SMC in a direction pointing away from the
LMC. This provides potential evidence that these intermediate-age stars could
have been tidally stripped from the SMC. However, spectroscopic studies will be
needed to confirm or rule out the tidal origin for the inter-Cloud gas and
stars.
