A^3COSMOS: Dust mass function and dust mass density at 0.5

Abstract

Although dust in galaxies represents only a few percent of the total baryonic mass, it plays a crucial role in the physical processes occurring in galaxies. Studying the dust content of galaxies, particularly at high $z$, is therefore crucial for understanding the link between dust production, obscured star formation, and the build-up of galaxy stellar mass. We study the dust properties (mass and temperature) of the largest Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)-selected sample of star-forming galaxies available from the archive (A$^3$COSMOS), and we derive the dust mass function and dust mass density of galaxies from $z=0.5\,-\,6$. We fit the spectral energy distribution (SED) with the CIGALE code to constrain the dust mass and temperature of the A$^3$COSMOS galaxy sample based on the UV-to-near-infrared photometric coverage of each galaxy combined with the ALMA (and Herschel when available) coverage of the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of their dust-continuum emission. We then computed and fit the dust mass function by combining the A$^3$COSMOS and the most recent Herschel samples in order to obtain the best estimate of the integrated dust mass density up to $z The dust masses in galaxies in lie between $ 10^8$ and $ $ M$_ odot $. From the SED fitting, we were also able to derive a dust temperature. The distribution of the dust temperature peaks at $ 30-35$K. The dust mass function at $z=0.5\,-\,6$ evolves with an increase in $M^*$ and a decrease in the number density ($ ^*$), and it agrees well with literature estimates. The dust mass density decreases smoothly in its evolution from $z 0.5$ to $z 6$, which is steeper than what is found by models at $z