PhD student positions: “Broken Mirrors and Drifting Constants”

The Kernfysisch Versneller Instituut (KVI, Groningen , the Netherlands ) is a national institute for research in the fields of fundamental and applied atomic and subatomic physics. It is an interfaculty institute of the University of Groningen (RUG) and its staff members are employed partly by the university and partly by the NWO Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM).

Recently the FOM-funded program “Broken Mirrors and Drifting Constants” has started. This is a joint program between our institute and the Laser centre of the VU Amsterdam. This research program is now hiring PhD students for its new research activities at KVI.

 

We are seeking to fill

PhD student positions: “Broken Mirrors and Drifting Constants”

Within the research program a number of projects are defined, with the common goal to use the most precise tools of physics available today to test our current physical understanding of the universe as laid out in General Relativity (GR) and the Standard Model (SM). A special focus is the violation of fundamental symmetries (Broken Mirrors), and the variation of the fundamental constants (Drifting Constants). We have selected a number of target species, which, because of their fortuitous level structure, have an enhanced sensitivity to new physics. These target species range from the He atom, to He+, Ra+ and H2+ ions, and H2, NH3 and SrF molecules; all systems at the atomic scale. We will bring these target species under full control and conduct measurements at extreme precision. Our measurements at the atomic scale will provide essential input for long sought-after grand unification theories, complementary to currently ongoing approaches at high energies with accelerators and cosmic particles. Concurrent research, focused on time-reversal violation, is done in the TRImP program at KVI using alkali and alkaline-earth atoms, for which there are also positions available.

Requirements

We are looking for highly motivated persons with interest in experimental atomic, molecular and optical physics to start on the available PhD projects. For a PhD position at the Kernfysisch Versneller Instituutan MSc degree in Physics, Applied Physics or another relevant field is a prerequisite.

 

Academic training

The young researcher will receive a thorough training within the international research school FANTOM of the Groningen Graduate School of Science.  She/he will have the opportunity to experience many international contacts, among other things in the biannual general FANTOM study weeks and in a work placement at a foreign institute.

 

Terms of employment

When fulfilling a PhD position at the FOM foundation, you will get the status of junior scientist.
You will have an employee status and can participate in all the employee benefits FOM offers. You will get a contract for 4 years. Your salary will be up to a maximum of 2,610 euro gross per month.The salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.33%.
You are supposed to have a thesis finished at the end of your four year term with FOM.
A training programme is part of the agreement. You and your supervisor will make up a plan for the additional education and supervising that you specifically need. This plan also defines which teaching activities you will be responsible (up to a maximum of 10% of your time). The conditions of employment of the FOM-foundation are laid down in the Collective Labour Agreement for Research Centres ( CAO -Onderzoekinstellingen), more exclusive information is available at the FOM website under Personeelsinformatie (in Dutch) or under Personnel (in English).

 

Information

More detailed information about the research projects can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Klaus Jungmann, email jungmann@kvi.nl

Application

Applicants should send their CV along with a motivation letter, list of marks, summary of their Master’s thesis and the names and e-mail addresses of two references to Ms. A.M. van der Woude, Personnel Manager, KVI, Zernikelaan 25, 9747 AA  Groningen, the Netherlands, email pa@kvi.nl 

The programme will will continuously hire PhD students over the next two years.