[{"intvolume":"       708","acknowledgement":"We thank the anonymous referee for the constructive feedback provided. LN acknowledges support from grant “Progetti per Avvio alla Ricerca – Tipo 1, Unveiling Cosmic Dawn: Galaxy Evolution with CAPERS” (AR1241906F947685) and from PRIN 2022 MUR project 2022CB3PJ3 – First Light And Galaxy aSsembly (FLAGS) funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU. LN, LP, AB, and BC acknowledge support from the ERC synergy grant 101166930 – RECAP. This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-03127. These observations are associated with programs #6368, #4233, #1215, #2565, and #3543. Support for program number GO-6368 was provided through a grant from the STScI under NASA contract NAS5-03127. The data were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute. These observations can be accessed via DOI. Some of the data products presented in this work were retrieved from the Dawn JWST Archive (DJA). DJA is an initiative of the Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), which is funded by the Danish National Research Foundation under grant DNRF140.","abstract":[{"text":"The resonant scattering nature of Lyα photons interacting with neutral hydrogen makes Lyα emitters (LAEs) robust tracers of the intergalactic neutral hydrogen fraction, and thus sensitive probes of cosmic reionization. We present an extensive study of the Lyα evolution from galaxies at 4.5 ≤ z ≤ 11 in the UDS field, observed as part of the CAPERS survey, and complemented with spectra from the DAWN JWST Archive. The combined sample includes 651 spectroscopically confirmed Lyα-break galaxies, among which we find 73 S/N > 3 LAEs in JWST-NIRSpec PRISM spectra. We trace the redshift evolution of the LAE fraction with EW0 > 25 Å (XLyα) between z = 5 and z = 9, extending such an analysis to the UDS field for the first time. At z = 5 and 6, the UDS results agree with the average JWST XLyα values from multiple fields. However, JWST measurements are consistently lower than ground-based results. To investigate this, we compare JWST observations to a population of star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 6 observed with VLT-FORS2. We find that a Lyα slit-loss of 35 ± 10% in JWST spectra accounts for the offset, as the resonant Lyα emission is more spatially extended than the stellar continuum. From z = 6 to 7, the UDS field shows a significant drop in Lyα visibility, from which we infer a neutral hydrogen fraction of XHI = 0.7–0.9. Finally, we identify two robust ionized bubbles at z = 7.29 and 7.77, with radii of Rion = 0.6 and 0.5 physical Mpc and photometric overdensities of N/⟨N⟩ = 3 and 4, based on candidate counts down to the photometric completeness limit. Compared to the large ionized region at z ∼ 7 in the EGS field, these results indicate significant field-to-field variation, supporting a patchy, inhomogeneous reionization process.","lang":"eng"}],"file_date_updated":"2026-10-12T07:09:27Z","researchdata_availability":"no","OA_type":"diamond","month":"04","PlanS_conform":"1","date_updated":"2026-10-12T07:11:18Z","date_published":"2026-04-01T00:00:00Z","tmp":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","short":"CC BY (4.0)","image":"/images/cc_by.png"},"day":"01","quality_controlled":"1","oa":1,"status":"public","article_processing_charge":"No","supplementarymaterial":"yes","user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","date_created":"2026-10-04T22:01:55Z","_id":"23050","article_type":"original","author":[{"first_name":"L.","full_name":"Napolitano, L.","last_name":"Napolitano"},{"first_name":"L.","full_name":"Pentericci, L.","last_name":"Pentericci"},{"first_name":"M.","last_name":"Dickinson","full_name":"Dickinson, M."},{"full_name":"Arrabal Haro, P.","last_name":"Arrabal Haro","first_name":"P."},{"full_name":"Taylor, A. J.","last_name":"Taylor","first_name":"A. J."},{"full_name":"Calabrò, A.","last_name":"Calabrò","first_name":"A."},{"first_name":"A.","last_name":"Bhagwat","full_name":"Bhagwat, A."},{"full_name":"Santini, P.","last_name":"Santini","first_name":"P."},{"first_name":"F.","full_name":"Arevalo-Gonzalez, F.","last_name":"Arevalo-Gonzalez"},{"full_name":"Begley, R.","last_name":"Begley","first_name":"R."},{"first_name":"M.","last_name":"Castellano","full_name":"Castellano, M."},{"first_name":"B.","last_name":"Ciardi","full_name":"Ciardi, B."},{"first_name":"C. T.","last_name":"Donnan","full_name":"Donnan, C. T."},{"last_name":"Dottorini","full_name":"Dottorini, D.","first_name":"D."},{"first_name":"J. S.","last_name":"Dunlop","full_name":"Dunlop, J. S."},{"first_name":"S. L.","full_name":"Finkelstein, S. L.","last_name":"Finkelstein"},{"first_name":"A.","full_name":"Fontana, A.","last_name":"Fontana"},{"first_name":"M.","last_name":"Giavalisco","full_name":"Giavalisco, M."},{"first_name":"M.","last_name":"Hirschmann","full_name":"Hirschmann, M."},{"last_name":"Jung","full_name":"Jung, I.","first_name":"I."},{"last_name":"Koekemoer","full_name":"Koekemoer, A. M.","first_name":"A. M."},{"full_name":"Kokorev, V.","last_name":"Kokorev","first_name":"V."},{"first_name":"M.","full_name":"Llerena, M.","last_name":"Llerena"},{"last_name":"Lucas","full_name":"Lucas, R. A.","first_name":"R. A."},{"id":"edaf889c-c7cd-11ef-ab1b-bb28c431bd29","first_name":"Sara","last_name":"Mascia","full_name":"Mascia, Sara"},{"first_name":"E.","full_name":"Merlin, E.","last_name":"Merlin"},{"first_name":"P. G.","last_name":"Pérez-González","full_name":"Pérez-González, P. G."},{"first_name":"T. M.","last_name":"Stanton","full_name":"Stanton, T. M."},{"first_name":"R.","last_name":"Tripodi","full_name":"Tripodi, R."},{"first_name":"X.","full_name":"Wang, X.","last_name":"Wang"},{"full_name":"Weiner, B. J.","last_name":"Weiner","first_name":"B. J."}],"type":"journal_article","publication":"Astronomy and Astrophysics","publication_identifier":{"issn":["0004-6361"],"eissn":["1432-0746"]},"article_number":"A102","das_tickbox":"0","publication_status":"published","title":"Lyα visibility from z = 4.5 to 11 in the UDS field: Evidence for a high neutral hydrogen fraction and small ionized bubbles at z ∼ 7","external_id":{"arxiv":["2508.14171"]},"doi":"10.1051/0004-6361/202556912","ddc":["520"],"has_accepted_license":"1","department":[{"_id":"JoMa"}],"arxiv":1,"fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556912","file":[{"file_size":3265893,"checksum":"adff12137f194affedd27fa07c82e062","file_name":"2026_AstronomyAstrophysics_Napolitano.pdf","date_updated":"2026-10-12T07:09:27Z","file_id":"23099","content_type":"application/pdf","creator":"dernst","relation":"main_file","access_level":"open_access","success":1,"date_created":"2026-10-12T07:09:27Z"}],"scopus_import":"1","oa_version":"Published Version","citation":{"short":"L. Napolitano, L. Pentericci, M. Dickinson, P. Arrabal Haro, A.J. Taylor, A. Calabrò, A. Bhagwat, P. Santini, F. Arevalo-Gonzalez, R. Begley, M. Castellano, B. Ciardi, C.T. Donnan, D. Dottorini, J.S. Dunlop, S.L. Finkelstein, A. Fontana, M. Giavalisco, M. Hirschmann, I. Jung, A.M. Koekemoer, V. Kokorev, M. Llerena, R.A. Lucas, S. Mascia, E. Merlin, P.G. Pérez-González, T.M. Stanton, R. Tripodi, X. Wang, B.J. Weiner, Astronomy and Astrophysics 708 (2026).","apa":"Napolitano, L., Pentericci, L., Dickinson, M., Arrabal Haro, P., Taylor, A. J., Calabrò, A., … Weiner, B. J. (2026). Lyα visibility from z = 4.5 to 11 in the UDS field: Evidence for a high neutral hydrogen fraction and small ionized bubbles at z ∼ 7. <i>Astronomy and Astrophysics</i>. EDP Sciences. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556912\">https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556912</a>","mla":"Napolitano, L., et al. “Lyα Visibility from z = 4.5 to 11 in the UDS Field: Evidence for a High Neutral Hydrogen Fraction and Small Ionized Bubbles at z ∼ 7.” <i>Astronomy and Astrophysics</i>, vol. 708, A102, EDP Sciences, 2026, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556912\">10.1051/0004-6361/202556912</a>.","ista":"Napolitano L, Pentericci L, Dickinson M, Arrabal Haro P, Taylor AJ, Calabrò A, Bhagwat A, Santini P, Arevalo-Gonzalez F, Begley R, Castellano M, Ciardi B, Donnan CT, Dottorini D, Dunlop JS, Finkelstein SL, Fontana A, Giavalisco M, Hirschmann M, Jung I, Koekemoer AM, Kokorev V, Llerena M, Lucas RA, Mascia S, Merlin E, Pérez-González PG, Stanton TM, Tripodi R, Wang X, Weiner BJ. 2026. Lyα visibility from z = 4.5 to 11 in the UDS field: Evidence for a high neutral hydrogen fraction and small ionized bubbles at z ∼ 7. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 708, A102.","ieee":"L. Napolitano <i>et al.</i>, “Lyα visibility from z = 4.5 to 11 in the UDS field: Evidence for a high neutral hydrogen fraction and small ionized bubbles at z ∼ 7,” <i>Astronomy and Astrophysics</i>, vol. 708. EDP Sciences, 2026.","chicago":"Napolitano, L., L. Pentericci, M. Dickinson, P. Arrabal Haro, A. J. Taylor, A. Calabrò, A. Bhagwat, et al. “Lyα Visibility from z = 4.5 to 11 in the UDS Field: Evidence for a High Neutral Hydrogen Fraction and Small Ionized Bubbles at z ∼ 7.” <i>Astronomy and Astrophysics</i>. EDP Sciences, 2026. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556912\">https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556912</a>.","ama":"Napolitano L, Pentericci L, Dickinson M, et al. Lyα visibility from z = 4.5 to 11 in the UDS field: Evidence for a high neutral hydrogen fraction and small ionized bubbles at z ∼ 7. <i>Astronomy and Astrophysics</i>. 2026;708. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556912\">10.1051/0004-6361/202556912</a>"},"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"volume":708,"year":"2026","publisher":"EDP Sciences","OA_place":"publisher"}]