A^3COSMOS: Dust mass function and dust mass density at 0.5<z<6

Context. 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. Aims. 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. Methods. 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 ∼ 6. Results. The dust masses in galaxies in A 3 COSMOS lie between ∼10 8 and ∼10 9.5 M ⊙ . 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 (Φ * ), 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 ≳ 2.