Post-doctoral position in dark matter search with ultracold atoms

21 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences

Research Field

Physics
Other

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)
Established Researcher (R3)

Country

Spain

Application Deadline

23 Mar 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35.7

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

ICFO is offering a postdoctoral position to a well-qualified, highly motivated and dynamic young scientist who wishes to enhance his/her scientific career in a friendly and stimulating environment.

The successful candidate will be joining the Atomic Quantum Optics group led by Prof. Dr. Morgan Mitchell.

Searches for new particles and forces using table-top experiments is an expanding frontier of fundamental physics, which traditionally has relied upon powerful particle colliders, e.g. the LHC at CERN. Axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) are well-motivated dark matter candidates that could solve multiple open problems, including the strong-CP problem in nuclear physics, and anomalous galaxy rotation rates. If they exist, axions and ALPs would mediate a distinctive monopole-dipole force, detectable in principle with atomic magnetometer technologies. Spinor Bose-Einstein condensates (SBECs) are ideal candidates to search for such forces, as they are 1) extraordinarily coherent (coherence times of many seconds), 2) very compact, allowing a SBEC magnetometer to search for short-range monopole-dipole forces that are out of reach of other sensor technologies and 3) very clean, well-understood systems, essential for understanding systematic effects. The successful candidate for this position will join a small team of PhD and post-doctoral researchers working to develop SBECs as detectors of these hypothesized new forces.

“Financed by the European Union-NextGenerationEU-MICIIN (PRTR-C17. I1) and by the Generalitat de Catalunya"

Requirements

Research Field

Physics

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Research Field

Other

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Candidates must hold an internationally-recognized Ph.D.-equivalent degree (or evidence of its completion in the nearest future) preferably in Physics or closely related fields.

The candidate should have a proven track record of experimental atomic, molecular and optical physics. Experience with ultracold gases and/or tabletop searches for new physics is strongly desirable.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Benefits

Salaries for ICFO Postdoctoral positions are assigned by the Selection Committee, based on experience and seniority of the applicant, as well as the assigned tasks and responsibilities within the group. Standard salaries range from a lower level aligned with national Ramon-y-Cajal fellowships to higher levels aligned with Marie Skłodowska-Curie individual fellowships.

The contract is offered for a period of 1 year.

Additionally, a family allowance is also available on request and after corresponding approval for people with family charges in the terms described in the corresponding policy.

Eligibility criteria

ICFO is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are selected exclusively on merit and potential on the basis of submitted application material. No restrictions related to disabilities, citizenship or gender apply to ICFO positions. ICFO abides by the principles of openness, efficiency, transparency, supportiveness, and international comparability as stated in the European Charter for Researchers and the European Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

Selection process

Suitable candidates are requested to submit:

• Presentation letter with a declaration of interest,
• Curriculum Vitae, including contact details,
• The contact e-mail of two potential referees.

Candidates will be assessed as they apply and the call will remain open until the suitable candidate is identified.

Candidates may contact [email protected]  for formal enquiries regarding the application, as well as address scientific enquiries to [email protected]

For update information about the hosting group, please visit https://www.icfo.eu/lang/research/groups/groups-details?group_id=20  .

For updated information about ICFO, please visit https://www.icfo.eu .

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

ICFO

Country

Spain

State/Province

Barcelona

City

Castelldefels

Postal Code

08860

Street

Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss, 3

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://jobs.icfo.eu/?detail=728

Contact

State/Province

Barcelona

City

Castelldefels

Website

http://www.icfo.eu

Street

Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss, 3

Postal Code

08860

STATUS: EXPIRED