1. Low dust mass and high star-formation efficiency at $z>12$ from deep ALMA observations
- Author
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Mitsuhashi, Ikki, Zavala, Jorge A., Bakx, Tom J. L. C., Inoue, Akio K., Castellano, Marco, Calabro, Antonello, Casey, Caitlin M., Franco, Maximilien, Hatsukade, Bunyo, Hathi, Nimish P., Ikeda, Ryota, Koekemoer, Anton M., Kartaltepe, Jeyhan, Knudsen, Kirsten K., Santini, Paola, Saito, Toshiki, Terlevich, Elena, and Terlevich, Roberto
- Subjects
Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies - Abstract
We investigate the dust mass build-up and star formation efficiency of two galaxies at $z>12$, GHZ2 and GS-z14-0, by combining ALMA and JWST observations with an analytical model that assumes dust at thermal equilibrium. We obtained $3\sigma$ constraints on dust mass of $\log M_{\rm dust}/M_{\odot}<5.0$ and $<5.3$, respectively. These constraints are in tension with a high dust condensation efficiency in stellar ejecta but are consistent with models with a short metal accretion timescale at $z>12$. Given the young stellar ages of these galaxies ($t_{\rm age}\sim10\,{\rm Myrs}$), dust grain growth via accretion may still be ineffective at this stage, though it likely works efficiently to produce significant dust in galaxies at $z\sim7$. The star formation efficiencies, defined as the SFR divided by molecular gas mass, reach $\sim10\,{\rm Gyr}^{-1}$ in a 10\,Myr timescale, aligning with the expected redshift evolution of `starburst' galaxies with efficiencies that are $\sim0.5$--$1\,{\rm dex}$ higher than those in main-sequence galaxies. This starburst phase seems to be common in UV-bright galaxies at $z>12$ and is likely associated with the unique conditions of the early phases of galaxy formation, such as bursty star formation and/or negligible feedback from super-Eddington accretion. Direct observations of molecular gas tracers like [C\,{\sc ii}] will be crucial to further understanding the nature of bright galaxies at $z>12$.
- Published
- 2025