PhD position at Lund University - Student at Lund U.

Lund University was founded in 1666 and for a number of years has been ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has 42 000 students and more than 7 500 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

The Faculty of Science conducts research and education within Biology, Astronomy, Physics, Geosciences, Chemistry, Mathematics and Environmental Sciences. The Faculty is organized into ten departments, gathered in the northern campus area. The Faculty has approximately 1900 students, 330 PhD students and 700 employees.

The Department of Physics is with a staff of about 350 scientists and educators one of the largest departments within Lund University. There are seven research divisions and a number of research centra within the department. The research activities at the department cover a broad spectrum of modern physics.

www.fysik.lu.se/english

Description

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is the world’s most powerful accelerator. The ATLAS experiment (http://atlas.ch) is one of two general purpose detectors exploring the energy frontier. In 2012 we verified the last component in our current knowledge, the Standard Model, by discovering the Higgs boson. Now the emphasis is to search for phenomena beyond the Standard Model, to expand our knowledge and hopefully become able to answer some of the large question in our understanding of Nature. What is the nature of Dark Matter? Are the quarks and leptons fundamental, or are they composed of smaller objects? Are there really only three spatial dimensions? The LHC has restarted with almost doubled energy, and with ATLAS we will explore this vast new energy range. We invite a PhD- student to join us in this research.

Job assignment

The main task for the doctoral student will be to conduct research education which includes work with research but also to master graduate courses.

The successful candidate will work on analysis of ATLAS data, in particular on the search of new particles that decay in quarks and gluons. In the case of positive signals the candidate will help identify the origins of the new particles, and possible connection to e.g. Dark Matter, and if fully consistent with the Standard Model, to demonstrate which suggested theories that can be excluded. The work on improving the selection techniques and the performance of the physics objects used in the search will be an important part of the PhD research. Additionally, some activities connected to R&D for future experiments and/or upgrades of ATLAS, could be included.

The successful candidate would have the possibility to help with supervising Master students.

The activities are located at the Department of Physics at Lund University. However, frequent visits to CERN will be required, and also some long term stationing there could be required.

Entry requirements

A formal requirement for doctoral studies in physics is:

• a university degree on advanced level within a related field, such as a Master's degree in physics or equivalent, or

• substantial advanced course work at the Master level, or comparable, including an independent research project.

Furthermore, the acceptance is based on the estimated ability to accomplish postgraduate studies. Other requirements:

Good knowledge in spoken and written English is a requirement.

Basis of Assessment

Selection to postgraduate studies is based on the expected ability to perform well in the studies. The evaluation of the ability to perform well is based primarily on the results of studies at the basic and advanced levels, in particular:

1. Knowledge and skills relevant to postgraduate studies within the research area, such as a broad and thorough preparation in physics. This can be documented by appended documents.

2. Estimated ability to work independently and the ability to formulate and solve scientific questions. This ability can be established, for example, based on undergraduate research experiences, a Master's thesis or in a discussion of scientific problems during a possible interview.

3. Skills in written and oral communication.
4. Other experience relevant to postgraduate studies, such as professional experience

5. The applicant should have experience in programming (C++/Python). The applicant should be interested in working in an international environment since a lot of the activities will be at CERN and possibly also at other international laboratories.

Other assessment criteria:
We consider good cooperation ability, drive and independent work ability as positive personal attributes.

The selection of the successful candidate will be based on the results of studies at the basic and advanced levels, the requirements indicated above, and the ability to cope with the challenges outlined in the anticipated assignments.

Terms of employment

A PhD position is an employment with the main duty to be engaged in PhD studies according to the study plan. The duration of PhD studies is 4 years full time studies. In addition, those appointed to doctoral student position may be required to work with educational tasks, research and technical/ administrative duties at a level of at most 20% of full time. The position is then extended correspondingly, however not longer than corresponding to 5 years full time employment. PhD positions are subject to special regulations. These can be found in the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance (SFS 1993:100, ch. 5, with updates). Only those who are or have been admitted to PhD-studies may be appointed to PhD position.

Application procedure

Apply online! Applications must contain a covering letter in which applicants describe themselves and their particular research interests. Applications must also include a CV, a copy of the applicant’s Master’s thesis (or a summary text if the thesis is not yet completed), contact details of at least two references (or preferentially that the reference letters are submitted directly to PhD-position@hep.lu.se by the references), copies of grade certificates, and any other documents that the applicant wishes to refer to. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants are also required to answer the job specific questions, if that is the first step of the application process.

Please submit your applications here: https://lu.mynetworkglobal.com/en/what:job/jobID:85903/

Last day of applying: 2016-02-07