The research activity of Leonardo Ricci is carried out in the Atomic and Molecular Physics Laboratory of the Physics Department and is devoted to the fields of cold atoms - and in particular the development of trapping systems for neutral atoms -, high-resolution laser spectroscopy and, last but not least, the development of advanced measurement, processing and control systems (hardware and software, including systems relying on neural networks) for applications in the Experimental Research; a main point regarding this last research line is the measurement and control of magnetic fields.
Since the beginning of 2005, pursuing a not-new interest (for example, in 1998, he attended the course "Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function: Approaches from Physics" of the International School of Physics "E. Fermi", organized by the Italian Physical Society - SIF), he is engaged in neuroscience topics; in particular, the role of noise in brain function (eg perception and cognition).
Within this last research framework, he has carried out studies on stochastic resonance phenomena in human perception. His research activity is now devoted to unsolved, physical issues of the Signal Detection Theory, SDT, like the criterion setting dynamics.
He is also actively interested in the History of Physics.
