The photon strength function (PSF) is important in describing photon emission probabilities; 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 low-energy enhancement (LEE) could have a large effect on $r$-process nucleosynthesis, where many nuclei with unmeasured neutron-capture cross sections are produced in nature. Experiments have shown evidence for an LEE in ${}^{56}\mathrm{Fe}, {}^{57}\mathrm{Fe}$, and ${}^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ nuclei. Measurement of the PSF of ${}^{58}\mathrm{Fe}$ will help constrain how the LEE evolves across the isotopic chain, offering stronger constraints for predictive Hauser-Feshbach models. The Detector Array for Photons, Protons, and Exotic Residues (DAPPER) was constructed to probe PSFs using $(d,p)$ reactions in inverse kinematics. The inaugural measurement with DAPPER was conducted to measure the PSF and nuclear level density (NLD) of ${}^{58}\mathrm{Fe}$, both of which are important for the modeling of the neutron-capture cross section of ${}^{57}\mathrm{Fe}(n,\gamma )$. For the first time, a forward-type method was used to constrain the NLD and PSF from a $(d,p)$ reaction measurement. Results show behavior consistent with an LEE similar in strength to previous measurements on other iron isotopes, though further efforts on error propagation would be necessary to set hard probability ranges.

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• Gamma-ray strength functions
• H & He induced nuclear reactions
• Level densities
• Nuclear astrophysics
• Nuclear reactions
• Transfer reactions
• 59 ≤ A ≤ 89