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A supernova origin for dust in a high-redshift quasar

Nature volume 431, pages 533–535 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Interstellar dust plays a crucial role in the evolution of the Universe by assisting the formation of molecules1, by triggering the formation of the first low-mass stars2, and by absorbing stellar ultraviolet–optical light and subsequently re-emitting it at infrared/millimetre wavelengths. Dust is thought to be produced predominantly in the envelopes of evolved (age >1 Gyr), low-mass stars3. This picture has, however, recently been brought into question by the discovery of large masses of dust in the host galaxies of quasars4,5 at redshift z > 6, when the age of the Universe was less than 1 Gyr. Theoretical studies6,7,8, corroborated by observations of nearby supernova remnants9,10,11, have suggested that supernovae provide a fast and efficient dust formation environment in the early Universe. Here we report infrared observations of a quasar at redshift 6.2, which are used to obtain directly its dust extinction curve. We then show that such a curve is in excellent agreement with supernova dust models. This result demonstrates a supernova origin for dust in this high-redshift quasar, from which we infer that most of the dust at high redshifts probably has the same origin.

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Figure 1: Spectrum of the quasar SDSS1048 + 46 at redshift 6.2, compared with quasar templates at lower redshift.
Figure 2: Extinction curve observed in the quasar SDSS1048 + 46 at z = 6.2 compared with the extinction curve observed in quasars at z < 4 and with the extinction curve expected from supernova dust.

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Acknowledgements

All authors have contributed equally to this paper. We thank J. Brucato for providing the optical constant of ACAR grains and we thank M. Walmsley for comments. This work was partially supported by the Italian Ministry of Research (MIUR) and by the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Sezione di Firenze, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy

    R. Maiolino, R. Schneider & E. Oliva

  2. CNR-IRA, Sezione di Firenze, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125, Firenze, Italy

    S. Bianchi & F. Mannucci

  3. “Enrico Fermi” Center, Via Panisperna 89/A, 00184, Roma, Italy

    R. Schneider

  4. Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, C. Alvarez de Abreu, 70, 38700, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Spain

    E. Oliva & M. Pedani

  5. SISSA/International School for Advanced Studies, Via Beirut 4, 34100, Trieste, Italy

    A. Ferrara

  6. Astrofisico Fco. Sànchez, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    M. Roca Sogorb

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  1. R. Maiolino
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  2. R. Schneider
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  3. E. Oliva
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  4. S. Bianchi
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  6. F. Mannucci
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Correspondence to R. Maiolino.

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Maiolino, R., Schneider, R., Oliva, E. et al. A supernova origin for dust in a high-redshift quasar. Nature 431, 533–535 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02930

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