The Coimbra Experiment: Report from Group 12

Abstract

We describe the approach adopted by our group to derive the star formation history (SFH) of the chosen LMC field, as part of the experiment to compare the predictions obtained by different groups with the synthetic Colour-Magnitude diagram method. We point out what are the evolutionary characteristics of the observed stellar populations, and present the SFH scenario which appears to better account for them. We emphasize the importance of adopting a {\it critical} approach when dealing with this method.

6 pages, 2 figures. Presented at the Meeting "Observed HR diagrams and stellar evolution: the interplay between observational constraints and theory", T.Lejeune & J.Fernandes eds, ASP Conf.Ser. in press