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A Carbon-Dust Signature Appeared 770 Million Years After the Big Bang

NOEMA detected [CII] at 5.1 sigma in a redshift-7.108 galaxy with the strongest known high-redshift 2175-angstrom ultraviolet bump.

Published Updated Story ID: mp-2026-09-14-026
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Summary

NOEMA detected [CII] at 5.1 sigma in a redshift-7.108 galaxy with the strongest known high-redshift 2175-angstrom ultraviolet bump.

The 2175-angstrom ultraviolet bump is associated with small carbonaceous grains, so seeing it in the early universe challenges slow dust-formation pictures. NOEMA observations of GNWY-7379420231 detected the [CII] 158-micrometer line at 5.1 sigma and a redshift of 7.1078, agreeing with the galaxy’s optical [OIII] measurement. The [CII]-inferred star-formation rate was consistent with other short-timescale tracers. Dust continuum was not detected, placing reported upper limits on obscured star formation and dust mass. The measurements link gas and the unusual UV feature but do not by themselves identify the exact grain source.

Why it matters

NOEMA detected [CII] at 5.1 sigma in a redshift-7.108 galaxy with the strongest known high-redshift 2175-angstrom ultraviolet bump.

Limits and context

  • Dust continuum was not detected, placing reported upper limits on obscured star formation and dust mass.
  • The measurements link gas and the unusual UV feature but do not by themselves identify the exact grain source.

Key claims

  1. NOEMA detected [CII] at 5.1 sigma in a redshift-7.108 galaxy with the strongest known high-redshift 2175-angstrom ultraviolet bump.

    Qualification: Dust continuum was not detected, placing reported upper limits on obscured star formation and dust mass.

    Evidence: source-2026-09-14-015

Sources

  1. arXiv preprint 2609.12203arXiv · primary research

Corrections

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