Active star formation in the N11B nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud:: A sequential star formation scenario confirmed

The second largest H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, N11B has been surveyed in the near-IR. We present JHK(s) images of the N11B nebula. These images are combined with CO (1 --> 0) emission-line data and with archival New Technology Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 optical images to address the star formation activity of the region. IR photometry of all the IR sources detected is given. We confirm that a second generation of stars is currently forming in the N11B region. Our IR images show the presence of several bright IR sources that appear to be located toward the molecular cloud as seen from the CO emission in the area. Several of these sources show IR colors with young stellar object characteristics, and they are prime candidates to be intermediate-mass Herbig Ae/Be stars. For the first time, an extragalactic methanol maser is directly associated with IR sources embedded in a molecular core. Two IR sources are found at 2" (0.5 pc) of the methanol maser reported position. Additionally, we present the association of the N11A compact H II region to the molecular gas, where we find that the young massive O stars have eroded a cavity in the parental molecular cloud, typical of a champagne flow. The N11 region turns out to be a very good laboratory for studying the interaction of winds, UV radiation, and molecular gas. Several photodissociation regions are found.