TRIµP PhD Thesis Possibilities

General information

In the course of the  TRIµP  programme  regularly  possibilities open for positions for PhD students within the new program TRIµP at KVI. TRIµP is right now a new user facility under construction, which will provide radioactive isotopes in ion or neutral atom traps for physics experiments. The range of experiments is expected to extend from particle physics (tests of physics beyond the standard model) to direct applications (rare isotope detection). It provides in particular  a unique opportunity to apply atomic physics for precision measurements of the weak interaction in atoms (parity nonconservation, PNC) and a search for a violation of the time reversal symmetry which may manifests itself in a permanent  electric dipole moment (EDM).
 

• In this program we have an opening for cooling and subsequent separation of short lived radioactive isotopes from the primary heavy ion beam of the AGOR cyclotron at KVI. Energetic isotopes over a large dynamical range will be stopped in a gas target and extracted with electro-magnetic dc and ac fields.  The separation of the ions of interest from the stopping gas and the transport of these ions to a rf quadrupol trap has to be designed and the associated physical processes need to be investigated. A central issue is the neutralization of ions for later storage in a laser trap for neutral atoms, where they can be held at temperatures below 1 mK for the precision experiments. 

• The isotopes of interest are produced at energies around 1 MeV per nucleon. They need to be slowed down to the eV kinetic energy range before they can be transported to the traps where the physics experiments will take place. At present a gas cell is foreseen for slowing the highly charged ions. The charge exchange and electron transfer processes in this energy range are widely unknown. We want to investigate those systematically in order to be able to design efficient devices for gas stopping of accelerator produced short -lived isotopes. This is not only of  interest for the TRImP facility at KVI but also for projects at other accelerator centers worldwide in Germany,  the United States, Japan and other places. The work is performed in the framework of a EU funded European network.

• A further possibility opens in connection with a search for electric dipole moments in the Radium atom. Here spectroscopic investigations will be necessary to determine essential parameters of several isotopes, their nuclei and the atomic wave functions. This project includes the preparation of a suited laser system and a magneto-optical trap. Close collaboration with atomic theorists will be part of the work.

Please contact L. Willmann, H. Wilschut or K. Jungmann for any further information. 
 

What is in it for you?

• You work in an experimental group with strong international connections.
• There is close collaboration between the experimental and theoretical physicists involved.
• The work in the group includes a large variety of aspects of modern physics:
  • atomic physics : laser cooling techniques, ion traps, atom traps
  • nuclear physics: production of rare nuclides, using the newest techniques being developed for the next generation of accelerator facilities.
  • fundamental physics: the integration of nuclear and atomic techniques to explore eventually physics beyond the standard model complementary to high energy particle physics approaches.
• You can acquire technical skills within a broad spectrum which may include theoretical skills as well as vacuum technology, electronics, data acquisition, accelerators, particle detectors, optics, laser technology, data analysis and the theory behind the experiments.