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 ^ { \circ } -50 ^ { \circ } 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 \times 10 ^ { -7 } , 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 .