Kathleen Barger (AKA Kat)	Synopsis of Myself Research X-Ray Diffuse Background Multiple Photoionization of Carbon-60 Awards & Activities Schlarships Volunteering Useful Links

Synopsis of Myself

I am currently a student at theWestern Washington University where I am working on a Bachelors in Physics and Minors in both Mathematics and Astronomy. Once I complete my bachelors in Physics, I intend to work towards my Ph.D. in Physics, with my thesis work in Astronomy. It is my hope to one day become an observational Astronomer.

At school, I am involved in many of the activities offered through the Physics department. I currently work at the Planetarium, giving shows to the public. I also perform shows for the local schools in the Bellingham area. This next year, I will also be helping to compose new shows for the planetarium with a new advanced digital projection system. During the years of 2005 and 2006, I will also be a tutor in the Native America Mentoring Program (NAMP) where I will work with children at the K through 12th grade levels, in the areas of science and math. I have also been a T.A, for the physics department, which included grading homework and teaching labs.

During the past few years, I have been participating in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. During the summers of 2004 and 2005, I have furthered my educational experiences by conducting research through this program. My summers at the UW-Madison involved working with both the Department of Physics and the Department of Astronomy. In 2004, the focus of my research was on studying the behavior of the Photoionization cross-section of Carbon-60 at the Synchrotron Radiation Center (SRC). In 2005, my research was used to enhance detectors that are being used in a rocket that studies the diffuse X-ray background in the Galactic Interstellar Medium (ISM) with the X-ray Astrophysics group.

Other then school activities, I am a member of Whatcom Association of Celestial Observers (WACO) and was their Vice President from 2004-2005. This organization holds monthly meetings and star parties where we try to stay informed on the current astronomical events. We also hold public star parties that are free to the public. We do this as a public service to enhance the community’s interest in astronomy. At these public star parties, we bring in many of our personally owned telescopes and other informative activities for the public to participate in. For many, this is the first opportunity to view celestial objects through a telescope. For the younger crowd, we bring many fun, education activities to hold their interest.

Research

High Spectral Resolution for Studying the X-Ray Diffuse Background

To study the Diffuse X-ray Background in the Galactic ISM, a rocket payload is being designed that will travel to the upper atmosphere of Earth and collect X-ray spectra. During the last rocket flight, the rocket was able to detect O+7, O+8, and C+6 ion, as well as some silicon ions. The paper below discusses the importance of high spectral resolution when studying the X-ray Diffuse Background and how this information is important to astronomers. While I was working with the X-Ray Astrophysics Group, I conducted an impedance study of the rocket's microcalrimeter detectors. The payload contains 36 of microcalorimeter detectors. They are highly sensitive and are designed specifically to detect small changes in energy due to an absorption of single X-ray photons. The impedance study that I performed was important because the previous impedance model did not fit with the data. Accuratly knowing the impedance of the detector is important because it can be used to determine the Heat Capacity (C) of the detectors. If the heat capacity of the detector is known, then it can be used to optimize the detector's sensitivity. This is because the lower the heat capacity the more the temperature of the detector will change from a given amount of energy of an X-ray and the better the signal to noise ratio.

Rocket's second launch

Presentation

Paper

Multiple Photoionization of Carbon-60

Photoionization is when a particle becomes ionized by photon. Carbon C60 is 60 individual Carbon-12 that form one molecule. We studyied the photoionization cross-section of the C60 and analyzed its behavior as the energy of the photon increased. Photoionization cross-section is the probability that the photon will be aborbed by the particle, in this case a C60 molecule. This work was done with scientist Ralf Wehlitz and graduate student Pavle Juranic. Below are links to the work I did while I was there. The presentation below better explains many of tough concepts that are presented in the paper and the poster. The presentation talks about the facility where this research was done and how we obtain the photons to conduct our experiment.

Pavle Juranic, Kat Barger, and Ralf Wehlitz

Presentation

Paper

Poster

Awards & Activities

Scholarships

American Association of University Women	Women of Western	Oscar Edwin Olson	Willard A. and Anne W. Brown Astronomy	Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
2005-2006	2005-2006	2005-2006	2004-2005	2003-2005

Volunteering

Native America Mentoring Program	Tax-Aide	American Astronomical Society Meeting	Gay Pride March in Seattle
2005-2006	2001-2002	2003	2003

University of Wisconsin Astronomy REU		Synchrotron Radiation Center REU
NASA Astrophysics Journals	American Physical Society Journals	Review of Scientific Instruments