Probing infrared eXcess to investigate early-Universe dust (PIXIEDust)

Bakx, TJLC ORCID: 0000-0002-5268-2221, Algera, HSB ORCID: 0000-0002-4205-9567, Jolly, JB ORCID: 0000-0002-3405-5646, Esmerian, C, Knudsen, K ORCID: 0000-0002-7821-8873, Sommovigo, L ORCID: 0000-0002-2906-2200, Witstok, J, Carniani, S ORCID: 0000-0002-6719-380X, Chen, J, Eales, S, Ferrara, A, Fudamoto, Y ORCID: 0000-0001-7440-8832, Hagimoto, M ORCID: 0000-0001-8083-5814, Hashimoto, T ORCID: 0000-0002-0898-4038, Inami, H ORCID: 0000-0003-4268-0393, Inoue, AK ORCID: 0000-0002-7779-8677, Khouri, T, Mitsuhashi, I, Nyman, G ORCID: 0000-0002-9527-3890, Olander, G et al (2025) Probing infrared eXcess to investigate early-Universe dust (PIXIEDust). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 546 (2). ISSN 0035-8711

Preview

Text Probing infrared eXcess to investigate early Universe dust PIXIEDust.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

Despite the implied presence of dust through reddened UV emission in high-redshift galaxies, no dust emission has been detected in the (sub)millimetre regime beyond z > 8 . 3. This study combines around 200 h of Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) and Northern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA) observations on 10 z > 8 galaxies, revealing no significant dust emission down to a 1 σ depth of 2.0, 2.0, and 1 . 5 μJy at rest-frame 158, 88 μm, and across all the data, respectively. This constrains average dust masses to be below < 10 5 M ⊙ at 3 σ and dust-to-stellar mass ratios to be below 3 . 7 × 10 −4 (assuming T dust = 50 K and βdust = 2 . 0). Binning by redshift (8 < z < 9 . 5 and 9 . 5 < z < 15), UV-continuum slope ( βUV ≶ −2), and stellar mass ( log 10 M ∗/ M ⊙ ≶ 9) yields similarly stringent constraints. Combined with other studies, these results are consistent with inefficient dust build-up in the z > 8 Universe, likely due to inefficient supernova production, limited interstellar grain growth and/or ejection by outflows. We provide data and tools online to facilitate community-wide high-redshift dust searches.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	5109 Space Sciences; 51 Physical Sciences; 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences; Astronomy & Astrophysics; 5101 Astronomical sciences; 5107 Particle and high energy physics; 5109 Space sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Divisions:	Astrophysics Research Institute
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Date of acceptance:	22 December 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	8 June 2026
Date Deposited:	08 Jun 2026 15:10
Last Modified:	08 Jun 2026 15:10
DOI or ID number:	10.1093/mnras/staf2284
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28779

View Item