An X-ray survey of the Magellanic Bridge

We propose EPIC observations of 3 fields in the Magellanic Bridge - the extended region joining the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds - with the aim of characterising recent star formation through the X-ray binary population. Together with already available optical photometry, these observations are central to our understanding of how the environment (e.g. local metallicity, gas content) affects star formation and evolution in turbulent intergalactic environments. For X-ray sources detected in outburst, these observations will permit rigorous study of individual sources through spectral and temporal analysis, while fainter and quiescent sources will be detected and identified through hardness ratios, variability and optical follow-up, allowing us a first look at the faint end of this unique population.