assistant professor (adjunkt) - research staff

The competition is open to persons who meet the conditions set out in Article 113 of the Act of 20 July 2018 - Law on higher education and science (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 1668) and the following qualification criteria:

- A doctorate in physics or a closely related field {obtained within 7 years before the starting date of the employment (career breaks such as for maternity/paternity leave will be taken into account)} or statement about planned finalization of doctorate (it’s required to receive a PhD degree before starting the work),

- A record of publications in optical frequency standards, optical spectroscopy, cold atoms or experimental atomic physics topics,

- Experimental work with ultracold atoms, in particular Hg, construction of high-resolution laser systems, construction of high vacuum systems for atom trapping and cooling, the analysis of experimental data affected by ultra-cold collisions. The description of hadron interactions beyond Standard Model and ultra-cold atomic collisions including optical Feshbach resonances. The construction of experimental setup for two-color photoassociation of ultracold Hg atoms and the optical molecular clock. Participation in collecting - experimental spectra and their analysis and interpretation.

- Good knowledge of written and spoken English.

Preferred:

- combination of skills related to Hz-level optical spectroscopy,

- experience with ultrastable cavities, experience in trapping and cooling with the use of UV lasers, and frequency transfer with an optical frequency comb.

Key responsibilities include: experimental work with ultracold atoms, in particular Hg, construction of high-resolution laser systems, construction of high vacuum systems for atom trapping and cooling, the analysis of experimental data affected by ultra-cold collisions. The description of hadron interactions beyond Standard Model and ultra-cold atomic collisions including optical Feshbach resonances. The construction of experimental setup for two-color photoassociation of ultracold Hg atoms and the optical molecular clock. Participation in collecting - experimental spectra and their analysis and interpretation.

PostDocs needed in this project should possess a unique combination of skills related to Hz-level optical spectroscopy, experience with ultrastable cavities, experience in trapping and cooling with the use of UV lasers, and frequency transfer with an optical frequency comb.

Institution: Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland

Project leader: prof. dr hab. Roman Ciuryło

Project title: Ultracold molecules for fundamental interactions sensing

The project is carried out in the National Laboratory FAMO within the OPUS 21 programme of the National Science Centre (NCN). The National Laboratory FAMO is a leading Polish research-oriented institution focused on atomic, molecular, and optical physics problems. Currently, several European projects are realized in National Laboratory FAMO, including: QuantumFlagship and EMPIR concerning ultra-cold atoms, quantum control, and optical atomic clocks.

This project is devoted to developing a new molecular sensor to allow the study of fundamental interactions. The energetic structure of molecules determined by the interaction between their components and the surrounding space will be utilized to look for exotic interactions like hadron-hadron fifth forces, non-Newtonian gravitation or perturbations by dark matter fields. We will use isotopologues of the heavy Hg2 molecules to look for signatures of additional interactions beyond the Standard Model at the nano-scale. Our approach relies on the confrontation of accurate spectroscopic measurements with theoretical calculations. For this purpose, we will measure near-threshold bound states of the Hg2 molecule. Taking advantage of the relatively simple dispersion form of the long-range part of interaction potential supporting these states, we will be able to reduces the influence of any inaccuracies in the description of the short-range part of the potential on the sensitivity of the comparison of theoretical and experimental spectra to additional interactions. We also start the effort to develop an optical molecular clock. This approach is complementary to research with H2 isotopologues, also ongoing in our laboratory, extending the separation range of atoms in which fundamental interactions can be studied.