We present a new optical polarimetric catalog for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). It contains a total of 7207 stars, located in the northeast (NE) and Wing sections of the SMC and part of the Magellanic Bridge. This new catalog is a significant improvement compared to previous polarimetric catalogs for the SMC. We used it to study the sky-projected interstellar magnetic field structure of the SMC. Three trends were observed for the ordered magnetic field direction at position angles (PAs) of (65{deg}+/-10{deg}), (115{deg}+/-10{deg}), and (150{deg}+/-10{deg}). Our results suggest the existence of an ordered magnetic field aligned with the Magellanic Bridge direction and SMC's Bar in the NE region, which have PAs roughly at 115.4{deg} and 45{deg}, respectively. However, the overall magnetic field structure is fairly complex. The trends at 115{deg} and 150{deg} may be correlated with the SMC's bimodal structure, observed in Cepheids' distances and HI velocities. We derived a value of B_sky_=(0.497+/-0.079){mu}G for the ordered sky-projected magnetic field, and {delta}B=(1.465+/-0.069){mu}G for the turbulent magnetic field. This estimate of B_sky_ is significantly larger (by a factor of ~10) than the line of sight field derived from Faraday rotation observations, suggesting that most of the ordered field component is on the plane of the sky. A turbulent magnetic field stronger than the ordered field agrees with observed estimates for other irregular and spiral galaxies. For the SMC the B_sky_/{delta}B ratio is closer to what is observed for our Galaxy than other irregular dwarf galaxies.

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/806/94/table7 (Polarimetric catalog (observed polarization))

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/806/94/table8 (Polarimetric catalog (intrinsic polarization))