Photon Strength Function of ⁵⁸Fe with DAPPER

The photon strength function (PSF) is important in describing photon emission probabilities and thus it plays a role in radiative neutron capture reactions. Experiments have shown an enhancement in the PSF at low energy for some nuclei. This “up-bend” could have a large effect on r-process nucleosynthesis, where many unmeasured nuclei are produced in nature. Experiments have shown an up-bend in both ⁵⁶Fe and ⁵⁷Fe nuclei. A measurement of ⁵⁸Fe’s PSF could see if this trend continues. In addition, doing a measurement of ⁵⁸Fe’s PSF helps to prepare for a future measurement of ⁶⁰Fe’s PSF, which will require a radioactive beam. DAPPER (Detector Array for Photons, Protons, and Exotic Residues) probes PSFs using inverse kinematics (d,p) reactions. DAPPER consists of 128 BaF­₂ detectors, to detect the gamma rays with high efficiency, and one S3 Annular Silicon detector, to detect the proton. A beam experiment was done on August 2^nd 2021 to measure ⁵⁸Fe’s PSF. Preliminary results on the measurement of ⁵⁸Fe’s PSF will be discussed.