Compton Imaging and Machine-Learning techniques for an enhanced sensitivity in key stellar (n,$\gamma$) measurements

Neutron capture cross-section measurements are fundamental in the study of astrophysical phenomena, such as the slow neutron capture (s-) process of nucleosynthesis operating in red-giant stars. To enhance the sensitivity of such measurements we have developed the i-TED detector. i-TED is an innovative detection system which exploits the Compton imaging technique with the aim of obtaining information about the incoming direction of the detected $\gamma$-rays. The imaging capability allows one to reject a large fraction of the dominant $\gamma$-ray background, hence enhancing the (n,$\gamma$) detection sensitivity.This work summarizes the main results of the first experimental proof-of-concept of the background rejection with i-TED carried out at CERN n_TOF using an early i-TED demonstrator. Two state-of-the-art C$_{6}$D$_{6}$ detectors were also used to benchmark the performance of i-TED. The i-TED prototype built for this study shows a factor of ~3 higher detection sensitivity than C6D6 detectors in the ~10 keV neutron-energy range of astrophysical interest. This works also introduces the perspectives of further enhancement in performance attainable with the final i-TED array and new analysis methodologies based on Machine-Learning techniques. The latter provide higher (n,$\gamma$) detection efficiency and similar enhancement in the sensitivity than the analytical method based on the Compton scattering law. Finally, we present our proposal to use this detection system for the first time on key astrophysical (n,$\gamma$) measurements, in particular on the s-process branching-point $^{79}$Se, which is especially well suited to constrain the thermal conditions of Red Giant and Massive Stars.