CEERS: Forging the First Dust Grains in the Universe? A Population of Galaxies with spectroscopically-derived Extremely Low Dust Attenuation (GELDA) at 4.0<z<11.4

Aims: This paper investigates the coevolution of metals and dust for 173 galaxies at $4.0<z<11.4$ observed with JWST/NIRSpec in the CEERS project. We focus on galaxies with extremely low dust attenuation to understand the physical mechanisms at play. Methods: We developed a new version of the \texttt{CIGALE} code that integrates spectroscopic and photometric data. By statistically comparing observations with modeled spectra, we derive physical parameters to constrain these mechanisms. Results: Our analysis reveals a population of 49 extremely low dust attenuation galaxies (GELDAs), consistent with $A_{FUV} = 0.0$ within $2\sigma$ and $M_{\star} < 10^9 M_\odot$. The stacked spectrum of GELDAs shows a very blue UV slope $\beta_{FUV} = -2.451 \pm 0.066$ and a Balmer decrement H$\alpha$/H$\beta = 2.932 \pm 0.660$, consistent with no dust and Case B recombination with minimal underlying absorption. Notably, GELDAs are more prevalent at $z > 8.8$ (83.3\%) than at lower redshifts (26.3\%), suggesting they could dominate in the early Universe. Using a far-infrared dust spectrum from the ALPINE sample, we study $M_{dust}$ vs. $M_{\star}$ trends. These exhibit upper and lower sequences connected by transitional galaxies. Our comparison with models indicates a critical transition around $M_{\star} \approx 10^{8.5}\,M_\odot$, from dust dominated by stellar sources (SNe and AGB stars) to dust growth via gas accretion. This corresponds to a metallicity of $12 + \log_{10}(O/H) = 7.60$ ($Z/Z_\odot \approx 0.1$), aligning with the point where ISM dust growth matches stellar dust production. The sample has a high gas fraction ($f_{\mathrm{gas}} \gtrsim 0.9$), with no significant gas expulsion, and high surface gas densities. This leads to low star formation efficiencies compared to sub-millimeter galaxies. GELDAs may help explain the observed excess of bright galaxies at $z \gtrsim 9$.