A Jetted Wandering Massive Black Hole Candidate in a Dwarf Galaxy

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a displaced massive black hole in a dwarf galaxy, providing evidence for black hole wandering due to galaxy interactions, which impacts models of black hole growth and early universe seeding.

Contribution

It presents the first robust observational evidence of a wandering massive black hole in a dwarf galaxy using VLBI, confirming theoretical predictions of black hole displacement.

Findings

Displaced MBH located 0.94 kpc from galaxy center.

Detected signatures of an accreting MBH, including high brightness temperature and jet.

Provides evidence for black hole interactions in low-mass galaxies.

Abstract

Wandering massive black holes (MBHs) are thought to form through gravitational recoil or galaxy mergers, but observational confirmation of their displacement in dwarf galaxies, critical laboratories for early-universe SMBH seeding, remains scarce. Using multi-epoch very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), we identify a displaced MBH in the dwarf galaxy MaNGA 12772-12704, located 0.94 kilo-parsec from its optical center. The source exhibits unambiguous signatures of an accreting MBH: a brightness temperature exceeding $10^9$K, a parsec-scale jet, and flux density variability over a 30-year baseline. This system provides the first robust evidence that dynamical black hole interactions predicted in hierarchical galaxy evolution occur even in low-mass hosts. The discovery challenges models requiring centralized gas reservoirs for MBH growth and directly informs high-redshift seeding scenarios.