Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Vacancy No. 244/2020
PhD Position in Experimental Astroparticle Physics (m/f/d)
at the Institute for Nuclear Physics of the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology, Germany, on the topic of Nuclear Fragmentation of
Cosmic-Ray Nuclei in the Galaxy
Description
A new generation of space-based cosmic-ray detectors has measured the
fluxes of Galactic cosmic rays to an unprecedented precision at the
percent-level. These measurements provide a unique diagnostic of
cosmic-ray propagation in the Galaxy and an opportunity to find
signatures of dark matter annihilation in the Galaxy and new physics
phenomena beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics. However, a firm
establishment of a non-standard component of particle production in the
Galaxy relies on good knowledge of fragmentation cross sections of
cosmic-ray interactions with the interstellar medium.
The successful candidate will participate in a new measurement of
nuclear fragmentation channels important for the interpretation of
secondary cosmic rays in the Galaxy. These measurements will be
performed with the NA61/SHINE experiment at the SPS accelerator at CERN.
Your responsibilities will include quality assessment during data
taking, analysis of the acquired data, measurement of fragmentation
cross sections and the study of the impact of these measurements on the
propagation of Galactic cosmic rays.
The position is based at the Institute for Nuclear Physics, one of the
world-leading institutes for experimental astroparticle physics. You
will receive graduate training at the Karlsruhe School of Elementary
Particle and Astroparticle Physics (KSETA) and profit from being
embedded within a large group of students and scientists working on a
variety of astroparticle experiments including the Pierre Auger
Observatory and IceCube. Several research visits to CERN and a close
collaboration with other groups of the NA61/SHINE collaboration are
foreseen. At the end of the three-year period you will have acquired an
in-depth knowledge of experimental and computational techniques of
particle physics and the astrophysics of particle transport in the
Galaxy.
The position is limited to three years and the salary is based on the
Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes and with PhD-specific conditions.
The preferred starting date is September 1st 2020. KIT pursues a gender
equality policy. Women are therefore particularly encouraged to apply.
If qualified, handicapped applicants will be preferred.
Qualification
The successful candidate must hold an MSc degree in particle or
astroparticle physics with very good results and have good English
skills. Previous experience in data analysis and scientific computing
will be helpful for an efficient analysis of the NA61/SHINE data within
the computing environment of CERN.
Application Please include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, BSc and MSc
academic transcripts (please indicate grading system if not evident)
and arrange for at least one reference letter. Please send the documents
as one pdf file (size <30 MB) to michael.unger@kit.edu. For further information, please contact Michael Unger at the same email or via phone (+49 721 608 23383).
Full consideration will be given to applications arriving before June 22nd, 2020.
Za vsebino oglasa, nadaljnji proces izbire kandidata in obliko medsebojnega sodelovanja med kandidatom in delodajalcem odgovarja delodajalec. Več informacij je na voljo tu.
