ALMA Lensing Cluster Survey: Dust mass measurements as a function of redshift, stellar mass, and star formation rate from z = 1 to z = 5

¹ Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, 85748 Garching, Germany
² Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
³ Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, CNES, LAM (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille), UMR 7326, 13388 Marseille, France
⁴ Astronomy Department, Universidad de Concepción, Barrio Universitario S/N, Concepción, Chile
⁵ Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Copenhagen, Denmark
⁶ Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 128, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
⁷ Institute of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-0015, Japan
⁸ Research Center for the Early Universe, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
⁹ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
¹⁰ International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), M468, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
¹¹ Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Campus San Joaquín, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, 7820436 Macul Santiago, Chile
¹² Centro de Astroingeniería, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Campus San Joaquín, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, 7820436 Macul Santiago, Chile
¹³ Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, Nuncio Monseñor Sótero Sanz 100, Of 104, Providencia, Santiago, Chile
¹⁴ Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 Ch. des Maillettes, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
¹⁵ Departamento de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Campus de Fuentenueva, Edificio Mecenas, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain
¹⁶ Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Facultad de Ciencias, E-18071 Granada, Spain
¹⁷ Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
¹⁸ CRAL, Observatoire de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, 9 Avenue Ch. André, F-69561 Saint Genis Laval Cedex, France
¹⁹ Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson 85721, USA
²⁰ Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
²¹ Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

^⋆ Corresponding author; jbjolly@mpe.mpg.de

Received: 24 February 2023
Accepted: 15 November 2024

Abstract

Context. Understanding the dust content of galaxies, its evolution with redshift and its relation to stars and star formation is fundamental for our understanding of galaxy evolution. Dust acts as a catalyst of star formation and as a shield for star light. Advanced millimeter facilities like ALMA have made dust observation ever more accessible, even at high redshift. However, dust emission is typically very faint, making the use of stacking techniques is instrumental in the study of dust in statistically sound samples.

Aims. Using the ALMA Lensing Cluster Survey (ALCS) wide-area band-6 continuum dataset (∼ 110 arcmin² across 33 lensing clusters), we constrain the dust-mass evolution with redshift, stellar mass, and star formation rate (SFR).

Methods. After binning sources according to redshift, SFR, and stellar mass as extracted from an HST-IRAC catalog, we performed a set of continuum-stacking analyses in the image domain using LINESTACKER on sources between z = 1 and z = 5, which further improved the depth of our data. The large field of view provided by the ALCS allowed us to reach a final sample of ∼4000 galaxies with known coordinates and SED-derived physical parameters. We stacked sources with an SFR between 10⁻³ and 10³ M_⊙ per year and a stellar mass between 10⁸ and 10¹² M_⊙, and we split them into different stellar mass and SFR bins. Through stacking, we retrieved the continuum 1.2 mm flux, which is a known dust-mass tracer. This allowed us to derive the dust-mass evolution with redshift and its relation to the SFR and stellar mass.

Results. We clearly detect the continuum in most of the subsamples. From the nondetections, we derive 3σ upper limits. We observe a steady decline in the average dust mass with redshift. Moreover, sources with a higher stellar mass or SFR have a higher dust mass on average. This allows us to derive scaling relations. Our results mostly agree well with models at z ∼ 1–3, but they indicate a typically lower dust mass than predicted at higher redshift.