article published yes Lisa Blomberg author Kareem El-Badry author Bethany Ludwig author Maria R. Drout author Ylva Louise Linsdotter Götberg author d0648d0c-0f64-11ee-a2e0-dd0faa2e4f7d0000-0002-6960-6911 YlGo department Stripped stars are hot, helium-rich stars formed when binary interactions remove a star’s hydrogen envelope. While low-mass (≲1 M⊙) and high-mass (≳8 M⊙) stripped stars are well studied as hot subdwarfs and Wolf–Rayet stars, their intermediate-mass counterparts (1–8 M⊙) have only recently been discovered. The Stripped-Star Ultraviolet Magellanic Cloud Survey (SUMS) identified UV-excess sources (i.e., sources lying blueward of the main sequence) in the Magellanic Clouds using Swift-UVOT photometry and selected 820 photometric stripped-star candidates. However, the completeness and purity of this sample remain poorly understood. We forward model the population of stripped stars in the Magellanic Clouds using a binary population synthesis model combined with spatially resolved star formation histories and simulated UV photometry. To assess survey sensitivity, we inject simulated sources into real Swift-UVOT images and reproduce the SUMS selection process, including crowding, extinction, and photometric quality cuts. For the SMC and LMC, we respectively recover 31% and 15% of sources with intrinsic UV excess, and 11% and 7% of all stripped stars. The rest are missed due to dilution by luminous companions, crowding, high extinction, and limited survey coverage. The observed population is biased toward systems with low-mass companions formed by common envelope evolution and systems with compact object companions. We predict contamination of the observed stripped-star candidates by main-sequence stars with spurious UV excess due to crowding and provide guidelines for selecting higher-purity subsamples. Our population synthesis model matches the number and properties of observed stripped star candidates with masses of (2–5) M⊙ well. It underpredicts the number of lower- and higher-mass candidates, perhaps due to contamination. https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/23053/23102/2026_PubAstronomicalSocietyPacific_Blomberg.pdf application/pdfno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ IOP Publishing2026 eng 0004-6280 1538-3873 2510.1896510.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19 1382 Blomberg L, El-Badry K, Ludwig B, Drout MR, Götberg YLL. Intermediate-mass stripped stars in the Magellanic Clouds: Forward modeling the observed population discovered via UV excess. <i>Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i>. 2026;138(2). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19">10.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19</a> Blomberg, Lisa, Kareem El-Badry, Bethany Ludwig, Maria R. Drout, and Ylva Louise Linsdotter Götberg. “Intermediate-Mass Stripped Stars in the Magellanic Clouds: Forward Modeling the Observed Population Discovered via UV Excess.” <i>Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i>. IOP Publishing, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19">https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19</a>. L. Blomberg, K. El-Badry, B. Ludwig, M.R. Drout, Y.L.L. Götberg, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 138 (2026). Blomberg L, El-Badry K, Ludwig B, Drout MR, Götberg YLL. 2026. Intermediate-mass stripped stars in the Magellanic Clouds: Forward modeling the observed population discovered via UV excess. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 138(2), 024202. L. Blomberg, K. El-Badry, B. Ludwig, M. R. Drout, and Y. L. L. Götberg, “Intermediate-mass stripped stars in the Magellanic Clouds: Forward modeling the observed population discovered via UV excess,” <i>Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i>, vol. 138, no. 2. IOP Publishing, 2026. Blomberg, L., El-Badry, K., Ludwig, B., Drout, M. R., &#38; Götberg, Y. L. L. (2026). Intermediate-mass stripped stars in the Magellanic Clouds: Forward modeling the observed population discovered via UV excess. <i>Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i>. IOP Publishing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19">https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19</a> Blomberg, Lisa, et al. “Intermediate-Mass Stripped Stars in the Magellanic Clouds: Forward Modeling the Observed Population Discovered via UV Excess.” <i>Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i>, vol. 138, no. 2, 024202, IOP Publishing, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19">10.1088/1538-3873/ae3a19</a>. 230532026-10-04T22:01:56Z2026-10-12T08:13:30Z