SMASHing the LMC: A Tidally-induced Warp in the Outer LMC and a
  Large-scale Reddening Map
  We present a study of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using ~2.2 million red clump (RC) stars selected from
the Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar History. To correct for line-of-sight dust
extinction, the intrinsic RC color and magnitude and their radial dependence
are carefully measured by using internal nearly dust-free regions. These are
then used to construct an accurate 2D reddening map (165 square degrees with
~10 arcmin resolution) of the LMC disk and the 3D spatial distribution of RC
stars. An inclined disk model is fit to the 2D distance map yielding a best-fit
inclination angle i = 25.86(+0.73,-1.39) degrees with random errors of +\-0.19
degrees and line-of-nodes position angle theta = 149.23(+6.43,-8.35) degrees
with random errors of +/-0.49 degrees. These angles vary with galactic radius,
indicating that the LMC disk is warped and twisted likely due to the repeated
tidal interactions with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). For the first time,
our data reveal a significant warp in the southwestern part of the outer disk
starting at rho ~ 7 degrees that departs from the defined LMC plane up to ~4
kpc toward the SMC, suggesting that it originated from a strong interaction
with the SMC. In addition, the inner disk encompassing the off-centered bar
appears to be tilted up to 5-15 degrees relative to the rest of the LMC disk.
These findings on the outer warp and the tilted bar are consistent with the
predictions from the Besla et al. simulation of a recent direct collision with
the SMC.
