{
  "abstract": "We measure the fraction of clumpy galaxies ($f_{\\rm clumpy}$) over the redshift range $z=1-9$ and stellar masses $\\log_{10}(M_\\star/{\\rm M_\\odot}) \\geq 8$ using JWST/NIRCam imaging from JADES. We define clumps as compact off-centre surface-brightness peaks with characteristic sizes of a few hundred parsecs, and develop a dendrogram-based clump-finding method with astrodendro to identify them directly in rest-frame UV, blue, and optical images. Clump-detection completeness is quantified through injection-recovery simulations, which we use to define ($M_\\star$, $z$)-dependent 50 per cent completeness-limited $f_{\\rm clumpy}$, alongside a probability-weighted completeness-corrected statistic for comparison. For the full sample, the blue and optical $f_{\\rm clumpy}$ reach $\\approx55$ per cent at $z\\approx1-2$ and decline to $\\lesssim5$ per cent by $z\\approx8-9$, while the UV fraction remains higher at $\\approx12$ per cent. At $z\\approx1-2$, $f_{\\rm clumpy}$ increases strongly with stellar mass, from $\\approx35$ per cent in the lowest-mass bin to $\\approx85$ per cent at $\\log_{10}(M_\\star/{\\rm M_\\odot})\\geq10$. Most clumpy galaxies host only one or two robustly detected off-centre clumps, while higher-multiplicity systems occur preferentially in massive, strongly star-forming galaxies at low to intermediate redshift. Comparison with major merger rates suggests that mergers could account for a substantial fraction of low-mass ($\\log_{10}(M_\\star/{\\rm M_\\odot})<8.5$), high-redshift clumpy galaxies, while the observed fractions in more massive systems ($\\log_{10}(M_\\star/{\\rm M_\\odot})>9$) require an additional in situ clump-formation channel. Our results are consistent with a transition from merger-dominated clumpy morphologies at early times and low stellar masses to an increasing contribution from in situ clump-formation channels, such as disc instabilities, in more massive systems.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.28515",
  "author_total": 24,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Dávid Puskás"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sandro Tacchella"
    },
    {
      "name": "Phoebe Chapman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Floor van Donkelaar"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrew J. Bunker"
    },
    {
      "name": "Courtney Carreira"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Lola Danhaive"
    },
    {
      "name": "Francesco D'Eugenio"
    },
    {
      "name": "Qiao Duan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Patricia Iglesias-Navarro"
    },
    {
      "name": "Amanda Stoffers"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hannah Übler"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yongda Zhu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mirko Curti"
    },
    {
      "name": "Emma Curtis-Lake"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kevin Hainline"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eiichi Egami"
    },
    {
      "name": "Daniel J. Eisenstein"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhiyuan Ji"
    },
    {
      "name": "Benjamin D. Johnson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Roberto Maiolino"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marcia Rieke"
    },
    {
      "name": "Brant Robertson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Christina C. Williams"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eawmry9f1tb3m.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.28515",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "eawmry9f1tb3m",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28515",
  "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": "W7223098290",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.28515",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eawmry9f1tb3m.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:34:04Z",
      "native_id": "2610.28515",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28515"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The clumpy fraction of galaxies at $z=1-9$ with JADES: evidence for a mass-dependent transition in clump origin",
  "title_text": "The clumpy fraction of galaxies at z=1−9 with JADES: evidence for a mass-dependent transition in clump origin",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:34:04Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eawmry9f1tb3m",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}