Detecting neutrons with HECTOR - measurement of (p,n) reactions using a total absorption NaI detector

s-process nucleosynthesis plays a crucial role in the creation of heavy isotopes along the valley of stability. Precise knowledge of individual (n,γ) cross sections is required to properly model the propagation of the s-process nuclei and impose constraints on reaction rates involved in the branching points along the nucleosynthetic path. Current experimental nuclear physics efforts focus on indirectly measuring these cross sections using the surrogate method. One such approach that is in development involves the high-efficiency total absorption spectrometer (HECTOR), which employs the γ-summing technique to quantify γ-ray cascades from an excited compound nucleus. Simultaneous measurements of the (p,γ) and (p,n) decay channels provide valuable data on the number of neutrons produced in the experiment once the neutron emission channel is opened. This work presents the first cross section measurement results from the 110Cd(p,n) reaction.