https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2019-12748-8
Special Article - New Tools and Techniques
High Efficiency Total Absorption Spectrometer HECTOR for capture reaction measurements
1
Department of Physics and Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, University of Notre Dame, 46556, Notre Dame, IN, USA
2
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA
3
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA
* e-mail: anna.simon@nd.edu
Received:
21
December
2018
Accepted:
3
April
2019
Published online:
22
May
2019
Proper understanding of the stellar nucleosynthesis processes requires information on a variety of capture reaction cross sections. Since these cross sections are typically very low, they require efficient measurement techniques. The High Efficiency Total Absorption Spectrometer (HECTOR) was designed to measure capture cross sections relevant for astrophysical processes. HECTOR is a 
-summing detector comprised of 16 separate NaI(Tl) segments. The detector design is presented, as well as a detailed study of the detector's summing efficiency and analysis procedure. The results of the commissioning of HECTOR are presented. The resonance strengths of the well-known resonances in the 27Al 
28Si reaction measured with HECTOR are compared with the literature values.
© Società Italiana di Fisica / Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature, 2019
