{
  "abstract": "The origin of dust in the early Universe remains uncertain. We explore whether Little Red Dots (LRDs) could provide a high-redshift dust-production channel. Motivated by an analogy with Type IIn supernovae, we investigate whether LRDs may share the efficient dust-forming conditions. We consider dust formation in outer winds and later in a shielded cold dense shell after the central source fades. Such dust may avoid a global remnant-phase reverse shock, while longer LRD lifetimes may promote grain growth. We model the SEDs of two low-redshift LRD analogs as a thermal pseudo-photosphere plus optically thin dust components, obtaining dust reservoirs of order $10^{2}$-$10^{3}\\,M_{\\odot}$. Although photometry cannot exclude pre-existing dust, the narrow Balmer components of both analogs are close to the Case B ratio and their narrow-line environments are metal-poor, disfavoring a dominant diffuse host-ISM origin for the inferred reservoir. Formation within the LRD outflow is consistent with our optical-depth, sublimation, and energy-balance checks. In this scenario, the large dust masses do not produce a strong optical attenuation because a clumpy or asymmetric distribution can leave the dominant optical sightlines relatively unobscured. Our population calculation shows that the LRD contribution to early-Universe dust production can range from negligible to dominant. At higher efficiencies, LRDs can approach or exceed the lower CCSN contribution above $z\\approx5$, whereas less favorable assumptions yield a minor contribution. We therefore propose that LRDs can act as early-Universe dust factories and, under some conditions, may dominate over CCSNe or provide seed grains for subsequent growth in the early ISM.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2608.29011",
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Chris Ashall"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rohan P. Naidu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alberto Torralba"
    },
    {
      "name": "Irene Shivaei"
    },
    {
      "name": "John Chisholm"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hanpu Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhaoran Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jorryt Matthee"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kyle Medler"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tyco Mera"
    },
    {
      "name": "Takashi J. Moriya"
    },
    {
      "name": "Devesh Nandal"
    },
    {
      "name": "Robert A. Simcoe"
    },
    {
      "name": "Wendy Q. Sun"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1vtzy795a47qa.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2608.29011",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1vtzy795a47qa",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.29011",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.GA"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.SR"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204935865",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.29011",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1vtzy795a47qa.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:41Z",
      "native_id": "2608.29011",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.29011"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    },
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.SR",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Can Little Red Dots Contribute To The Early Universe Cosmic Dust Budget?",
  "title_text": "Can Little Red Dots Contribute To The Early Universe Cosmic Dust Budget?",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:41Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1vtzy795a47qa",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}