Dark bulge, exponential disk, and massive halo in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The rotation curve of the Large Magellanic Cloud, which we derived from hig h-resolution H I position-velocity diagrams observed by Kim et al. (1998 Ap J 503, 674), shows a steep central rise and flat rotation with a gradual ri se toward the edge. Using the rotation curve, we calculate the distribution of the surface mass density, and show that the LMC has a dark compact bulg e, an exponential disk, and a massive halo. The bulge is 1.2 kpc away from the center of the stellar bar, and is not associated with an optical counte rpart. This indicates that the "dark bulge" has a large fraction of dark ma tter, with an anomalously high mass-to-luminosity (M/L) ratio. On the contr ary, the stellar bar has a smaller M/L ratio compared to that of the surrou nding regions.