From stardust to interstellar grain growth in the first galaxies: a cosmological transition in dust evolution near z ~ 8.9
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 ≳ 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.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{burgarella2026from,
title = {{From stardust to interstellar grain growth in the first galaxies: a cosmological transition in dust evolution near z ~ 8.9}},
author = {Denis Burgarella and Tom J. L. C. Bakx and Raffaella Schneider and Hiddo S. B. Algera and Chloe Aurin and Tim Dewachter and Clarke Esmerian and Luca Graziani and Kirsten Knudsen and Koki Otaki},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.10290},
eprint = {2609.10290},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.10290},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - From stardust to interstellar grain growth in the first galaxies: a cosmological transition in dust evolution near z ~ 8.9
AU - Denis Burgarella
AU - Tom J. L. C. Bakx
AU - Raffaella Schneider
AU - Hiddo S. B. Algera
AU - Chloe Aurin
AU - Tim Dewachter
AU - Clarke Esmerian
AU - Luca Graziani
AU - Kirsten Knudsen
AU - Koki Otaki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/09
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.10290
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.10290
AB - 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 ≳ 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.
ER -