On the possible existence of a positive metallicity gradient in the Small Magellanic Cloud

We present results obtained from near-infrared spectra of 62 red giant stars belonging to three comparatively faint star clusters of the Small Magellanic Cloud (NmM). The spectra were obtained using the FORS2 instrument attached to the powerful Very Large Telescope (VLT, Paranal, Chile). They cover a spectral range of ~ 1600 A in the region of the Ca II triplet. Using these absorption lines, we measured radial velocities and equivalent widths from which we derived the metallicity. Since these three clusters are located in the external region of the NmM, once they are analyzed together with another 29 clusters previously observed by our team with the VLT, they allow us to reexamine the possible existence of a positive metallicity gradient in this region of the galaxy (Parisi et al. 2015, AJ, 149, 154).