Near-infrared Variability Detected in the Young Star-forming Dwarf Galaxy SBS 0335-052E

February 2026 • 2026ApJ...997..241H

Authors • Hatano, Shun • Kokubo, Mitsuru • Ouchi, Masami • Nakajima, Kimihiko • Kawaguchi, Toshihiro • Kikuta, Satoshi • Tominaga, Nozomu • Xu, Yi • Watanabe, Kuria • Harikane, Yuichi • Isobe, Yuki • Matsumoto, Akinori • Nishigaki, Moka • Ono, Yoshiaki • Onodera, Masato • Sugahara, Yuma • Umeda, Hiroya • Zhang, Yechi • Chiba, Ryotaro • Moriya, Takashi J.

Abstract • SBS 0335-052E is a young star-forming dwarf galaxy with a total stellar mass of M_* ≲ 10⁸M_⊙ and an extremely low metallicity (Z ∼ 1/40Z_⊙), which has long been considered to be devoid of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Here, we report the detection of temporal flux variability of SBS 0335-052E in near-infrared (NIR) 3─4 μm bands on timescales of several years, showing dimming and brightening of up to 50% over 14 yr, based on archival data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Our spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting of archival ultraviolet (UV)-NIR photometry, including AGN SED models, indicates that the variable NIR emission arises from an edge-on AGN dust torus. The UV-optical emission from the accretion disk is obscured and does not reach us, leading to the dominance of the host galaxy's young stellar population in the UV-optical wavelengths. This analysis favors the presence of a Compton-thick, heavily obscured AGN in SBS 0335-052E, consistent with its observed X-ray weakness. From the SED fitting, we estimate an AGN bolometric luminosity of L_bol = 1.2 × 10⁴³ erg s⁻¹, which implies a black hole (BH) mass of M_BH ≃ 10⁵M_⊙ if the AGN is accreting at the Eddington limit. If confirmed, SBS 0335-052E would be the least massive galaxy known to host an AGN, likely harboring an intermediate-mass BH.

Links

• ELECTR https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae29aa
• PREPRINT http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03726