{
  "abstract": "Dense star-forming regions in $z>1$ galaxies, often termed 'clumps', have been studied across two distinct regimes of telescope resolution, each motivating interpretations in tension with the other. In the SCALES series (Star-Forming Clumps As Layered Emergent Structures), we aim to connect star-forming structures across scales, from the $\\sim100\\,\\mathrm{pc}$ clumps in lensed studies to the $\\sim\\mathrm{kpc}$-scale ''giant'' clumps in unlensed surveys. In this first paper, we present a difference-of-Gaussian (DoG) decomposition that simultaneously models $\\approx 50-400\\,\\mathrm{pc}$ (lensed) clumps and $\\sim\\mathrm{kpc}$-scale component (the extended component, or EC), which would together constitute the giant clumps seen at lower resolution. Here the EC is treated as a scale-separated local background rather than a physical object, absorbing all light that is not a compact clump. Applying this to 23 moderately lensed ($μ\\approx 2-9$) galaxies at $z_{spec} = 1-4$ to evaluate clump properties (deferring ECs and giant clumps to SCALES-II), we measure a clump stellar mass function slope of $1.88 \\pm 0.04$, consistent with the $\\approx2$ expected for hierarchical star formation, and with that of $\\sim\\mathrm{kpc}$-scale clumps in unlensed galaxies. We also show that empirical correlations of clump surface densities and clump-to-host mass ratio with redshift are exaggerated by redshift-dependent detection bias, so $\\approx 50-400\\,\\mathrm{pc}$ clumps are largely co-similar across our range ($z = 1-4$). Finally, combining clump mass, size and age estimates with literature gas-dispersion measurements at similar scales, we argue that $\\sim100\\,\\mathrm{pc}$ clumps are themselves composed of star-cluster-like sub-components at much smaller scales.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.03866",
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Boris S. Kalita"
    },
    {
      "name": "Adélaïde Claeyssens"
    },
    {
      "name": "Luis C. Ho"
    },
    {
      "name": "Miroslava Dessauges-Zavadsky"
    },
    {
      "name": "Natascha M. Förster Schreiber"
    },
    {
      "name": "Emanuele Daddi"
    },
    {
      "name": "John D. Silverman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Naval Kishor Bhadari"
    },
    {
      "name": "Changhao Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Fangzhou Jiang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ke Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jinning Liang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alvaro Segovia Otero"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jinyi Shangguan"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/216k9f7m9rqj1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.03866",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "216k9f7m9rqj1",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03866",
  "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"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220699884",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.03866",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/216k9f7m9rqj1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:36:22Z",
      "native_id": "2610.03866",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03866"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "SCALES. I. Bridging Lensed Clump - Giant Clump Scales in Lensed Galaxies at $z=1-4$",
  "title_text": "SCALES. I. Bridging Lensed Clump - Giant Clump Scales in Lensed Galaxies at z=1−4",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:20:44Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/216k9f7m9rqj1",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}