Carbonaceous dust grains seen in the first billion years of cosmic time

Joris Witstok (), Irene Shivaei (), Renske Smit (), Roberto Maiolino, Stefano Carniani, Emma Curtis-Lake, Pierre Ferruit, Santiago Arribas, Andrew J. Bunker, Alex J. Cameron, Stephane Charlot, Jacopo Chevallard, Mirko Curti, Anna Graaff, Francesco D’Eugenio, Giovanna Giardino, Tobias J. Looser, Tim Rawle, Bruno Rodríguez del Pino, Chris Willott, Stacey Alberts, William M. Baker, Kristan Boyett, Eiichi Egami, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Ryan Endsley, Kevin N. Hainline, Zhiyuan Ji, Benjamin D. Johnson, Nimisha Kumari, Jianwei Lyu, Erica Nelson, Michele Perna, Marcia Rieke, Brant E. Robertson, Lester Sandles, Aayush Saxena, Jan Scholtz, Fengwu Sun, Sandro Tacchella, Christina C. Williams and Christopher N. A. Willmer
Additional contact information
Joris Witstok: University of Cambridge
Irene Shivaei: University of Arizona
Renske Smit: Liverpool John Moores University
Roberto Maiolino: University of Cambridge
Stefano Carniani: Scuola Normale Superiore
Emma Curtis-Lake: University of Hertfordshire
Pierre Ferruit: European Space Agency, European Space Astronomy Centre
Santiago Arribas: Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC–INTA
Andrew J. Bunker: University of Oxford
Alex J. Cameron: University of Oxford
Stephane Charlot: Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris
Jacopo Chevallard: University of Oxford
Mirko Curti: University of Cambridge
Anna Graaff: Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie
Francesco D’Eugenio: University of Cambridge
Giovanna Giardino: ESTEC
Tobias J. Looser: University of Cambridge
Tim Rawle: Space Telescope Science Institute
Bruno Rodríguez del Pino: Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC–INTA
Chris Willott: NRC Herzberg
Stacey Alberts: University of Arizona
William M. Baker: University of Cambridge
Kristan Boyett: University of Melbourne
Eiichi Egami: University of Arizona
Daniel J. Eisenstein: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Ryan Endsley: University of Texas
Kevin N. Hainline: University of Arizona
Zhiyuan Ji: University of Arizona
Benjamin D. Johnson: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Nimisha Kumari: Space Telescope Science Institute
Jianwei Lyu: University of Arizona
Erica Nelson: University of Colorado
Michele Perna: Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC–INTA
Marcia Rieke: University of Arizona
Brant E. Robertson: University of California, Santa Cruz
Lester Sandles: University of Cambridge
Aayush Saxena: University College London
Jan Scholtz: University of Cambridge
Fengwu Sun: University of Arizona
Sandro Tacchella: University of Cambridge
Christina C. Williams: NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory
Christopher N. A. Willmer: University of Arizona

Nature, 2023, vol. 621, issue 7978, 267-270

Abstract: Abstract Large dust reservoirs (up to approximately 108 M⊙) have been detected1–3 in galaxies out to redshift z ≃ 8, when the age of the Universe was only about 600 Myr. Generating substantial amounts of dust within such a short timescale has proven challenging for theories of dust formation4,5 and has prompted the revision of the modelling of potential sites of dust production6–8, such as the atmospheres of asymptotic giant branch stars in low-metallicity environments, supernova ejecta and the accelerated growth of grains in the interstellar medium. However, degeneracies between different evolutionary pathways remain when the total dust mass of galaxies is the only available observable. Here we report observations of the 2,175 Å dust attenuation feature, which is well known in the Milky Way and galaxies at z ≲ 3 (refs. 9–11), in the near-infrared spectra of galaxies up to z ≃ 7, corresponding to the first billion years of cosmic time. The relatively short timescale implied for the formation of carbonaceous grains giving rise to this feature12 suggests a rapid production process, possibly in Wolf–Rayet stars or supernova ejecta.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06413-w

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