Dust in the Average Galaxy: Attenuation, Emission, and Opacity from $0
Abstract
We present constraints on the dust emission and attenuation properties of galaxies across 010^{10.5}M_\odot$. We derive empirical relationships for the effective attenuation, dust temperature, fraction of star formation that is unobscured, and dust-to-stellar mass ratio as functions of redshift and stellar mass. We separate the first order effect of star/dust geometry from dust grain properties by combining constraints on the IR SED, UV SED, and dust mass surface density. Importantly, we measure over an order of magnitude decrease in $κ_{UV}/κ_{FIR}$--the ratio of dust mass absorption coefficients in the UV at 1600Å and FIR at 500$μ$m--from z~0 to z~7. A depressed $κ_{UV}/κ_{FIR}$ is consistent with a deficit of small dust grains, possibly attributable to the intense radiation fields of high-$z$ star formation; indeed, we find a redshift-invariant inverse relationship between $κ_{UV}/κ_{FIR}$ and $Σ_{SFR}$. Most evolution in the dust-to-stellar ratio is at $z
Fields of Study & Subjects
Galaxies: Formation
Evolution
Phenomena
Astronomy and Astrophysical Research
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Publication date
- 15 June 2026
- Document type
- Preprint