The So-Called “Bar” in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We propose that the off-centered “bar” in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is an unvirialized structure slightly misaligned with, and offset from, the plane of the LMC disk. The small displacement and misalignment are consequences of recent tidal interactions with the SMC and the Galaxy. This proposal, though radical, is consistent with the kinematics of the LMC and near-infrared star count maps from the DENIS and 2MASS surveys. It does not violate any of the observational limits on the depth and structure of the LMC – in particular, the reported 25 − 50 inclination range of the LMC and the east-west gradient of distance moduli of standard candles. Contributions to LMC microlensing come from the mutual lensing of stars in the disk and the “bar”, as well as self-lensing of the disk and the “bar”. The microlensing optical depth of such configurations from self-lensing alone lies between 0.5 − 1.5 × 10, which is comparable to the observed microlensing signal reported by the EROS and MACHO groups. Possible observations are suggested to discriminate between our misaligned, offset “bar” model and the conventional picture of an off-centered, planar bar. Subject headings: Galaxy: halo Galaxy: kinematics and dynamics Magellanic Clouds galaxies: interactions dark matter