On the age of the nearby blue compact dwarf galaxy SBS 0335-052

Abstract

UBVRI surface photometry and long-slit spectrophotometric observations are used to investigate the evolutionary status and put constraints on the age of the underlying stellar population of the eastern component of a nearby pair of dwarf galaxies, the blue compact dwarf galaxy SBS\ 0335-052E. We show that ionized gas emission extending out to distances ga 1 kpc from the central complex of super-star clusters (SSC) can significantly influence the observed colour distribution of the underlying component. After correction for the latter effect, we find that the intrinsic colours of the underlying component in SBS\ 0335-052E are consistent with those of a stellar population not older than 100 Myr, so that the BCD is truly a young galaxy.