A jetted wandering massive black hole candidate in a dwarf galaxy - Short Communication

Aug 21, 2026

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The study investigates massive black hole formation and growth in dwarf galaxies, where shallow gravitational potentials and less evolved assembly histories make them critical testbeds for off-nuclear black hole scenarios. It reviews how offset active galactic nuclei arise through dual/binary supermassive black holes or jet-driven displacements and why displaced massive black holes may be produced by gravitational-wave recoil or asymmetric gas accretion. Using spatially resolved MaNGA emission-line diagnostics and supporting eROSITA X-ray results, the work evaluates observational pathways to distinguish light echoes, wandering intermediate-mass black holes, and obscured low-accretion AGNs in low-mass hosts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

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Introduction

Off-nuclear AGNs and physical mechanisms

Observational strategies with MaNGA and eROSITA

Diagnostic challenges and discriminating scenarios

A jetted wandering massive black hole candidate in a dwarf galaxy Downloaded from: [https://research.chalmers.se](https://research.chalmers.se), 2026-08-21 09:40 UTC Citation for the original published paper (version of record): Liu, Y., An, T., Mezcua, M. et al (2025). A jetted wandering massive black hole candidate in a dwarf galaxy. Science Bulletin, 70(21): 3461-3465. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.09.001](http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.09.001) N. B. When citing this work, cite the original published paper. research.chalmers.se offers the possibility of retrieving research publications produced at Chalmers University of Technology. It covers all kind of research output: articles, dissertations, conference papers, reports etc. since 2004. research.chalmers.se is administrated and maintained by Chalmers Library (article starts on next page) Science Bulletin 70 (2025) 3461–3465 | Short Communication
A jetted wandering massive black hole candidate in a dwarf galaxy
Yuanqi Liu a, Tao An a,b,c,⁎, Mar Mezcuad,e, Yingkang Zhang a, Ailing Wang f, Jun Yang g, Xiaopeng Cheng ha Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China
b School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
c State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Beijing 100101, China d Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB, Barcelona 08193, Spain
e Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Ediﬁci RDIT, Campus UPC, Castelldefels (Barcelona) 08860, Spain
f Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China g Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala SE-43992, Sweden h Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon 34055, the Republic of Korea | | | --- | --- | | a r t i c l e i n f o | | | Article history:
Received 24 February 2025
Received in revised form 9 June 2025 Accepted 20 August 2025
Available online 4 September 2025 | © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science China Press. This isan open access article under the CC BY-NC license ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)). | Dwarf galaxies, with their shallow gravitational potentials, less evolved assembly histories, and low mass, serve as critical laboratories for studying massive black hole (MBH) formation and growth [1]. They preserve signatures of the primordial processes that shaped early MBH emergence [2]. Off-nuclear (or offset) active galactic nucleus (AGN) are increasingly recognized as important laboratories for understanding galactic dynamics and black-hole evolution, with recent studies indicating that they are quite common in various galaxy populations. For instance, systematic surveys using optical spectroscopy, X-ray, and integral ﬁeld unit (IFU) observations have identiﬁed spatially or kinematically offset AGNs in 2%–62% of samples, depending on methodology [3–5]. Regarding AGNs with offset radio cores, Popkov et al. [6] identiﬁed 35 cases where very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) coordinates are associated with bright jet components separated by several to tens of milliarcseconds (mas) from the radio core. The primary mechanisms for such off-nuclear AGNs include dual/binary supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and jet-driven displacements, though systems hosted in dwarf galaxies remain rare and more complex due to their shallow potentials and merger histories. The discovery of off-nuclear MBHs challenges traditional evolutionary models that typically posit nuclear gas reservoirs as the primary sites of MBH growth. MBH displacement from the galactic centre can result from gravitational wave recoil during mergers or asymmetric gas accretion [7]. Recoil velocities can even exceed the escape velociti

FAQs

Why are dwarf galaxies important for studying massive black hole growth?

Their shallow gravitational potentials and simpler evolutionary histories preserve signatures of early massive black hole formation processes, making them key laboratories for understanding how massive black holes form and evolve.

What physical mechanisms can produce off-nuclear or displaced black holes?

The paper highlights dual/binary supermassive black holes and jet-driven displacements, and also notes that mergers can cause gravitational-wave recoil or asymmetric gas accretion that displaces massive black holes from galactic centers.

How do MaNGA and eROSITA help identify off-nuclear activity in dwarf galaxies?

MaNGA uses spaxel-by-spaxel emission-line analysis with spatially resolved BPT diagnostics to find AGN candidates and quantify offsets, while eROSITA X-ray data corroborate these findings and indicate a large fraction of off-nuclear AGNs among its detections.

Aug 21, 2026

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