  The vast majority of extragalactic compact continuum radio sources are
associated with star formation or jets from (super)massive black holes and, as
such, are more likely to be found in association with starburst galaxies or
early-type galaxies. Two new populations of radio sources were recently
identified: (a) compact and persistent sources (PRSs) associated with fast
radio bursts (FRBs) in dwarf galaxies and (b) compact sources in dwarf galaxies
that could belong to the long-sought population of intermediate-mass black
holes. Despite the interesting aspects of these newly found sources, the
current sample size is small, limiting scrutiny of the underlying population.
Here, we present a search for compact radio sources coincident with dwarf
galaxies. We search the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey (LoTSS), the most sensitive
low-frequency (144 MHz central frequency) large-area survey for optically thin
synchrotron emission to date. Exploiting the high spatial resolution (6 arcsec)
and low astrometric uncertainty (~0.2 arcsec) of the LoTSS, we match its
compact sources to the compiled sample of dwarf galaxies in the Census of the
Local Universe, an H alpha survey with the Palomar Observatory 48 inch Samuel
Oschin Telescope. We identify 29 over-luminous compact radio sources, evaluate
the probability of chance alignment within the sample, investigate the
potential nature of these sources, and evaluate their volumetric density and
volumetric rate. While optical line-ratio diagnostics on the nebular lines from
the host galaxies support a star-formation origin rather than an AGN origin,
future high-angular-resolution radio data are necessary to ascertain the origin
of the radio sources. We discuss planned strategies to differentiate between
candidate FRB hosts and intermediate-mass black holes.
