The origin of large-scale HI structures in the Magellanic Bridge

We investigate the formation of a number of key large-scale HI features in the interstellar medium of the Magellanic Bridge using dissipationless numerical simulation techniques. This study comprises the first direct comparison between detailed HI maps of the Bridge and numerical simulations. We confirm that the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) forms two tidal filaments: a near arm, which forms the connection between the SMC and the Large Magellanic Cloud, and a counter-arm. We show that the H I of the most dense part of the Bridge can become arranged into a bimodal configuration, and that the formation of a 'loop' of HI, located off the north-eastern edge of the SMC, can be reproduced simply as a projection of the counter-arm, and without invoking localized energy-deposition processes such as supernova events or stellar winds.