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Abstract The physics of recombination lines in the Heisinglet system is expected to be relatively simple, supported by accurate atomic models. We examine the intensities of Heisingletsλ3614, λ3965, λ5016, λ6678, and λ7281 and the triplet Heiλ5876 in various types of ionized nebulae and compare them with theoretical predictions to test the validity of the “Case B” recombination scenario and the assumption of thermal homogeneity. Our analysis includes 85 spectra from Galactic and extragalactic Hiiregions, 90 from star-forming galaxies, and 218 from planetary nebulae, all compiled by the Deep Spectra of Ionized Regions Database Extended (DESIRED-E) project. By evaluating the ratios Heiλ7281/λ6678 and Heiλ7281/λ5876, we determineT_e(Hei) and compare it with direct measurements ofT_e([Oiii]λ4363/λ5007). We find thatT_e(Hei) is systematically lower thanT_e([Oiii]) across most objects and nebula types. Additionally, we identify a correlation between the abundance discrepancy factor (ADF(O²⁺)) and the differenceT_e([Oiii]) –T_e(Hei) for planetary nebulae. We explore two potential explanations: photon loss fromn¹P → 1¹Stransitions and temperature inhomogeneities. Deviations from “Case B” may indicate photon absorption by Hirather than Heiand/or generalized ionizing photon escape, highlighting the need for detailed consideration of radiative transfer effects. If temperature inhomogeneities are widespread, identifying a common physical phenomenon affecting all ionized nebulae is crucial. Our results suggest that both scenarios can contribute to the observed discrepancies. 

Context.One of the surprising early findings with JWST has been the discovery of a strong “roll-over” or a softening of the absorption edge of Lyαin a large number of galaxies atz≳ 6, in addition to systematic offsets from photometric redshift estimates and fundamental galaxy scaling relations. This has been interpreted as strong cumulative damped Lyαabsorption (DLA) wings from high column densities of neutral atomic hydrogen (H I), signifying major gas accretion events in the formation of these galaxies. Aims.To explore this new phenomenon systematically, we assembled the JWST/NIRSpec PRImordial gas Mass AssembLy (PRIMAL) legacy survey of 584 galaxies atz = 5.0 − 13.4, designed to study the physical properties and gas in and around galaxies during the reionization epoch. Methods.We characterized this benchmark sample in full and spectroscopically derived the galaxy redshifts, metallicities, star formation rates, and ultraviolet (UV) slopes. We defined a new diagnostic, the Lyαdamping parameterD_Lyα, to measure and quantify the net effect of Lyαemission strength, the H Ifraction in the intergalactic medium, or the local H Icolumn density for each source. The JWST-PRIMAL survey is based on the spectroscopic DAWN JWST Archive (DJA-Spec). We describe DJA-Spec in this paper, detailing the reduction methods, the post-processing steps, and basic analysis tools. All the software, reduced spectra, and spectroscopically derived quantities and catalogs are made publicly available in dedicated repositories. Results.We find that the fraction of galaxies showing strong integrated DLAs withN_HI > 10²¹ cm⁻²only increases slightly from ≈60% atz ≈ 6 up to ≈65 − 90% atz > 8. Similarly, the prevalence and prominence of Lyαemission is found to increase with decreasing redshift, in qualitative agreement with previous observational results. Strong Lyαemitters (LAEs) are predominantly found to be associated with low-metallicity and UV faint galaxies. By contrast, strong DLAs are observed in galaxies with a variety of intrinsic physical properties, but predominantly at high redshifts and low metallicities. Conclusions.Our results indicate that strong DLAs likely reflect a particular early assembly phase of reionization-era galaxies, at which point they are largely dominated by pristine H Igas accretion. Atz = 8 − 10, this gas gradually cools and forms into stars that ionize their local surroundings, forming large ionized bubbles and producing strong observed Lyαemission atz < 8.