Most recently I have been concentrating on working more on energy and environmental issues. During the summers of 2006 and 2007 I spent time at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change Research in Germany working with economists and natural scientists learning how they use models to investigate how to avoid serious economic consequences while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions significantly. A particular interest of mine is in tying together climate, economic and energy system models and thinking about the consequences of coming fossil-fuel depletion challenges.
At present the main effort being carried out in my laboratory is an experiment using diode laser spectroscopy to investigate molecular oxygen absorption strengths and to make absolute measurement of the transition frequency for the oxygen A-band. This experiment has been the focus of my research efforts for the past few years, resulting in two papers published in refereed journals and a third paper in preparation. Four senior honors thesis students have worked on that experiment.In addition to the experimental work carried out in my laboratory I have maintained an active collaboration with Dr. Perry Rice of Miami University in the field of theoretical quantum optics. We are continuing to investigate quantum dynamical effects of a few atoms in an optical cavity. Collaboration is also continuing with Dr. Leno Pedrotti of the UD Physics Dept. and Electro-optics Program.
Recent Publications:
"Revisiting Hafemeister’s ‘Science and Society’ Tests", Brecha, R. J., Berney, R. L., Craver, B. A, Am. J. Phys. 75, 916-930 (2007).
"Tunable
diode laser absorption measurement of oxygen A-band linestrengths”Anderson, B.,
Brecha, R. J. . Applied Physics B 87 379-385 (2007).
"Dipolar Oscillations in a Quantum Degenerate Fermi-Bose Atomic Mixture," F. Ferlaino, R.J. Brecha, P. Hannaford, F. Riboli, G. Roati, G. Modugno, and M. Inguscio, J. Opt. B: Quantum Semiclass. Opt. 5, S3–S8 (2003).
"Collapse
of a Degenerate Fermi Gas," G. Modugno, G. Roati, F. Riboli, F. Ferlaino, R.J.
Brecha and M. Inguscio, Science 297, 2240 (2002).
"Cooling atoms in an optical trap by selective parametric excitation," N. Poli, R. J. Brecha, G. Roati and G. Modugno, Phys. Rev. A65, 021401 (2002).
"Bose-Einstein Condensation of Potassium Atoms by Sympathetic Cooling," G. Modugno, G. Ferrari, G. Roati, R. J. Brecha, A. Simoni, M. Inguscio, Science 294, 1320-1322, (2001). .
"Two-level atom in an optical parametric oscillator: Spectra of transmitted and fluorescent fields in the weak-driving-field limit," Phys. Rev. A 62, 033802 (2000). (J.P. Clemens, P.R. Rice, P.K. Rungta and R.J.B.)
"Analysis of imperfect polarizer effects in magnetic rotation spectroscopy," R.J. Brecha and L.M. Pedrotti, Optics Express 5, 101 (1999).
"Non-invasive Magnetometry Based on Magnetic Rotation
Spectroscopy of Oxygen," R.J. Brecha, Applied Optics 37, 4834 (1998).
N
two-level atoms in a driven optical cavity (theory;
with Perry Rice)
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