  New infrared and millimeter observations from Keck, Palomar, ISO, and OVRO
and archival data from the NRAO VLA and IRAS are presented for the low
metallicity blue compact dwarf galaxy SBS 0335-052. Mid-infrared imaging shows
this young star-forming system is compact (0.31"; 80 pc) at 12.5 microns. The
large Br-gamma equivalent width (235 Angstroms) measured from integral field
spectroscopy is indicative of a ~5 Myr starburst. The central source appears to
be optically thin in emission, containing both a warm (~80 K) and a hot (~210
K) dust component, and the overall interstellar radiation field is quite
intense, about 10,000 times the intensity in the solar neighborhood. CO
emission is not detected, though the galaxy shows an extremely high global H I
gas-to-dust mass ratio, high even for blue compact dwarfs. Finally, the
galaxy's mid-infrared-to-optical and mid-to-near-infrared luminosity ratios are
quite high, whereas its far-infrared-to-radio and far-infrared-to-optical flux
ratios are surprisingly similar to what is seen in normal star-forming
galaxies. The relatively high bolometric infrared-to-radio ratio is more easily
understood in the context of such a young system with negligible nonthermal
radio continuum emission. These new lines of evidence may outline features
common to primordial galaxies found at high redshift.
