Commissioning of HECTOR at CASPAR: ²⁷Al(p, γ)²⁸Si resonance strength measurements 4,850 feet underground

The High EffiCiency TOtal absorption spectrometeR (HECTOR) is a 4π γ-summing detector designed to measure radiative-capture cross sections. Here, we present the commissioning of HECTOR at the Compact Accelerator System for Performing Astrophysical Research (CASPAR) laboratory, which is located at the Sandford Underground Research Facility 4,850 feet underground. With the underground environment drastically improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the detector, it is estimated HECTOR will be able push cross-section measurements down to the order of picobarns. Details of the experimental setup will be discussed along with the analysis of several resonance strengths measured for the ²⁷Al(p,γ)²⁸Si reaction between the lab energies 0.2-1 MeV. The measurements are in excellent agreement with those found in the literature.