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

Understand

SBS~0335-052E is a young star-forming dwarf galaxy with a total stellar mass of $M_{*} \lesssim 10^{8}~M_{\odot}$ and an extremely low metallicity ($Z \sim 1/40~Z_{\odot}$), 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\ ${\rm \mu}$m bands on timescales of several years, showing dimming and brightening of up to 50\% over 14~years, 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.