Marco Ciocca

Associate Professor

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Eastern Kentucky University

Richmond, KY 40475

Office: (859) 622-6172

Fax: (859) 622-1399

(If you really want to see what I look like and what I do for fun, click here...I warned you!)


DEGREES

Italian Laurea (Physics):University of Naples (Italy).           June 1983

Ph. D.  (Physics): Washington University (St. Louis, MO)    March 1994

 


LEGAL STATUS

Permanent Resident

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

University of Naples (Italy):
CO2 laser excitation of polyatomic molecules: acquired experience in the characteristics of infrared molecular spectra coupled with experience using infrared laser sources1.  Optogalvanic effect in Neon: developed a rate equations model4 for the discharge.

University of Missouri-St Louis:
Studied collisions between laser-excited Rydberg atoms. Elucidated mechanisms causing the formation of negative ions in a sodium vapor2. Observed forbidden transitions (np ->n'p) due to simultaneous occurrence of laser excitation and collisions3. Shown that valence states in a two-electron system (Ba) are much less active than the Rydberg states5, 6, 12. Performed experiments on the photoionization, both with lasers and sincrotron radiation, of laser excited states in barium8, 13, 16.

Ph. D. Project (with professor J. J. Leventhal)
By making combined use of a CO2-laser and very accurate theoretical Stark maps, obtained improved quantum defect parameters and a more precise value of the ionization energy 11 in sodium. The Stark measurements were taken at very high principal quantum number, motivating development of a classical model of the Stark effect by utilizing the correspondence principle9, 10. Also performed experiments with Rf fields superimposed over Stark structures, generating Floquet States and allowing precision measurements of atomic parameters14, 15, 19.

POSTDOCTORAL EXPERIENCE
 

2/95-10/96: Winner of a National Research Council Research Associateship with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Worked in the UV Emission Laboratory with Dr. J. Ajello studying photon emission (30 - 115 nm) by molecules (N2, CO, H2)of astrophysical interest 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, excited by electron impact.

10/96-7/97: At Old Dominion University, with Prof. K. H. Schoenbach, of the Physical Electronics Research Institute, studying VUV emission of micro-hollow cathode discharges23.

7/97- 8-99: Joined the group of Prof. K. B. MacAdam in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Kentucky, to study charge exchange collisions between ions and Rydberg Atoms in linear Stark states of defined ellipticity.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
 

Washington University Teaching Assistant                                                                           1986-88

University of Missouri-St. Louis Teaching Assistant                                                            1991-94

Florissant Valley Community College Lecturer: Optics, College Physics (Serway)            Fall 1994

University of Kentucky Course: Conceptual Physics (Hewitt)                                             1998-1999

Eastern Kentucky University  

Assistant Professor                                                                                                               1999- 2003

Associate professor                                                                                                               2003-


 
 

FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

Angelo della Riccia Foundation (Italy)                                                               1985 & 1986

NRC Research Assistantship                                                                               1995 & 1996

PUBLICATION LIST

1) E. Arimondo, M. Ciocca, G. Baldacchini, "Optically Pumped Infrared Laser Action in Propyne", in "Reviews of Infrared and Millimeter Waves", Vol. 2, Plenum Publishing, p.467 (1984).

2) M. Ciocca, M. Allegrini, E. Arimondo, C. E. Burkhardt, W. P. Garver and J. J. Leventhal, "Negative Ion Formation in Rydberg-Atom Interaction(n=7-40)", Phys Rev.Lett., 56, 704 (1986).

3) C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, W. P. Garver, J. D. Kelley and J. J. Leventhal, "Forbidden
Transition to Atomic Rydberg States in Optical Collision", Phys.Rev.Lett., 57, 1562 (1986).

4) A. Sasso, M. Ciocca, E. Arimondo, "Simultaneous optogalvanic and laser-induced fluorescence investigation in the neon positive column", J.Opt.Soc.Am.B, 5, 1484 (1988).

5) M. Allegrini, E. Arimondo, C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, W. P. Garver, S. Gozzini,E. Menchi, J. J. Leventhal, J. D. Kelley, "State mixing in Collision Involving Highly Excited Barium Atoms", Phys.Rev.A, 38, 3271, (1988).

6) C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, J. J. Leventhal and J. D. Kelley, "Role of The Valence Electron in Reactive Processes: Penning Ionization by a Rydberg Atom", Phys. Rev. Lett.65, 2351, (1990).

7) C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, J. J. Leventhal, E. Arimondo, T. Bergeman and S. T. Manson, "Photoionization of Rydberg Atoms Very Near Threshold", Nuc. Instr. and Methods in Physics Research B 56/57 , 313 (1991).

8) L. W. He, C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, J. J. Leventhal and S. T. Manson, "Absolute Cross Section for the Photoionization of the 6s6p 1P Excited State of Barium", Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 2131 (1991).

9) T. P. Hezel, C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca and J. J. Leventhal, "Classical View of the Stark Effect in Hydrogen Atoms", Am. J. Phys. 60, 324 (1992).

10) T. P. Hezel, C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca and J. J. Leventhal, "Classical View of the
Properties of Rydberg Atoms: Application of the Correspondence Principle", Am. J. Phys. 60, 329 (1992).

11) M. Ciocca, C. E. Burkhardt, J. J. Leventhal and T. Bergeman, "Precision Stark Spectroscopy of Sodium: Improved Values for the Ionization Limit and Bound States", Phys. Rev. A 45, 4720 (1992).

12) C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, J. J. Leventhal and J. D. Kelley, "Augmented Long Range Attraction in Collision Involving a Rydberg Atom", Phys. Rev. A 46, 5795 (1992).

13) L. W. He, C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, J. J. Leventhal and S. T. Manson, "Reply to Comment on "Absolute Cross Section for the Photoionization of the 6s6p 1P1 Excited State of Barium", Phys. Rev. Lett. 69,693 (1992)

14) Y. Zhang, M. Ciocca, L. W. He, C. E. Burkhardt and J. J. Leventhal, "Measurement of Atomic Polarizabilities using Floquet Spectroscopy", Phys. Rev. A, 50, 1101 (1994).

15) Y. Zhang, M. Ciocca, L. W. He, C. E. Burkhardt and J. J. Leventhal, "Floquet Spectroscopy of Hydrogenic States: Classical and Quantal Description", Phys. Rev. A 50, 4608 (1994).

16) L-W. He, C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, and J. J. Leventhal, H-L. Zhou and S. T. Manson, "Correlation Effects in the Photoionization of Ba(6s6p 1P1): Determination of Cross Sections for Production of Specific Final J-States", Phys. Rev. A, 51, 2085 (1995).

17) J. Ajello, D. Shemansky, I. Kanik, G. James, X. Liu, S. Ahmed and M. Ciocca, "High
Resolution Uv Spectroscopy of H2 and N2 applied to Observations of the Planets by Spacecraft", J. of Electr. Spectrosc.and Rel. Phen. 79, 429 (1996)

18) J. Ajello and M. Ciocca, "Fast Nitrogen Atoms from Dissociative Excitation of N2 by
Electron Impact", J. Geo. Res. 101, 18953-18960 (1996).

19) J. F. Baugh, M. Ciocca, D. A. Edmonds, P. T. Nellesen, C. E. Burkhardt and J. J. Leventhal, "Polarizability of a Hydrogenic State", Phys. Rev. A, 54, 4641 (1996).

20) M. Ciocca, I. Kanik and J. Ajello, "High-resolution studies of extreme-ultraviolet emission from CO by electron impact", Phys Rev. A, 55, 3547 (1997)

21) M. Ciocca, J. M. Ajello, X. Liu, "Kinetic Energy Distribution of D(2p) Atoms from analysis of the line profile of D Lyman-a" , Phys. Rev. A, 56, 1929 (1997).

22) J. Ajello, G. James, M. Ciocca, "High Resolution Euv Emission Spectroscopy of the N2c' v' = 3 and 4 levels by electron impact, J. Phys. B (in press).

23) K.H. Schoenbach, A.El-Habachi, W. Shi and M. Ciocca," High Pressure Hollow Cathode Discharges", Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., 6 468, (1997).

24) X. Liu, D. Shemansky, M. Ciocca, I. Kanik and J. Ajello, “Analysis of the physical properties of the N2 c' 1S+u - X1S+g  transition.” (in press)., Astrophysical Journal, 2005


 
 


Click the Atom to return to EKU Physics page
 
 


E-mail and comments to
marco.ciocca@eku.edu