{
  "abstract": "When and how did dust begin to shape galaxies? Motivated by the identification of an apparent redshift break in galaxy dust masses, suggesting substantially lower dust masses at $z \\gtrsim 9$, we investigate dust enrichment during the first billion years of cosmic history. We aim to determine whether the observed evolution marks a transition in the dominant dust-production mechanism and to identify the physical conditions under which such a transition is expected to occur. Using JWST, ALMA, and NOEMA observations, we measure ultraviolet dust attenuation and dust masses. We apply a censored change-point analysis and compare the observations with dust evolution modelling. The analysis identifies a preferred transition near redshift z ~ 8.9, corresponding to about 570 Myr after the Big Bang. The evidence for a break is strongest in dust mass and dust-to-stellar mass ratio, mostly estimated from JWST NIRSpec spectrophotometric fitting but also partly from sub-mm data. The ultraviolet attenuation measurements are consistent with a transition at the same epoch but do not independently require one. The models are consistent with the onset of efficient interstellar grain growth above a characteristic metallicity. We interpret the transition near z ~ 8.9 as the emergence of grain-growth-dominated dust evolution from an earlier regime dominated by supernova-produced grains. Population III enrichment can modify the earliest chemical-enrichment history but leaves the timing of the dust transition nearly unchanged and is not required for its emergence.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.10290",
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Denis Burgarella"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tom J. L. C. Bakx"
    },
    {
      "name": "Raffaella Schneider"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hiddo S. B. Algera"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chloe Aurin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tim Dewachter"
    },
    {
      "name": "Clarke Esmerian"
    },
    {
      "name": "Luca Graziani"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kirsten Knudsen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Koki Otaki"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f1cten31x61tc.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.10290",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "f1cten31x61tc",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.10290",
  "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": "W7212138756",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.10290",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-09",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f1cten31x61tc.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:12Z",
      "native_id": "2609.10290",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.10290"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "From stardust to interstellar grain growth in the first galaxies: a cosmological transition in dust evolution near z ~ 8.9",
  "title_text": "From stardust to interstellar grain growth in the first galaxies: a cosmological transition in dust evolution near z ~ 8.9",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f1cten31x61tc",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}