Measuring the partial width of the $^{56}$Ni proton-capture resonance through (d,n) with VANDLE and MoNA-LISA

Due to the long half-life of $^{56}$Ni and the low proton threshold of $^{57}$Cu, the (p,$\gamma )$ reaction on $^{56}$Ni is the linchpin reaction for heavier elements in the \textit{rp} process of explosive nucleosynthesis. A new attempt to measure the proton partial width of the excited 1/2$^{-}$ state in $^{57}$Cu and to indirectly extract the proton-capture resonance strength was performed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory using the Versatile Array of Neutron Detectors at Low Energy (VANDLE) along with the MoNA-LISA neutron array. The VANDLE setup of digitizing electronics was event-matched to the MoNA-LISA-Sweeper data acquisition system. After a test run with a stable $^{40}$Ca beam, a beam of $^{56}$Ni impinged onto a deuterated polyethylene target inducing (d,n) transfer reactions to predominantly single-proton states in $^{57}$Cu. These experiments were the commissioning experiments for VANDLE with a transfer reaction. Details of the unique experimental setup will be presented as well as current analysis of the data with both $^{40}$Ca and $^{56}$Ni beams.