PhD Studentship on LZ
The UCL High Energy Physics group is offering a PhD studentship on the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Dark Matter Search Experiment, starting September 2016. The LZ experiment will operate at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in the U.S., and will be the world’s most sensitive detector in the search to discover Dark Matter, the elusive substance that makes up 85% of the mass of the Universe.
The UCL HEP group consists of around 80 staff and students, and provides an exciting and supportive research environment with involvement in particle phenomenology, neutrino experiments, direct Dark Matter searches, Particle Astrophysics, lepton sector experiments and accelerator R&D.
Through the course of the studentship the successful candidate would have the opportunity to be involved in all areas of LZ, including construction and assembly of the detector, underground installation and commissioning, conducting Monte Carlo simulations, and analysis of the very first data. At UCL, our primary focus is on ensuring the experiment will operate with ultra-low background rates to expose any signal from Dark Matter, and on developing high precision background models against which any signal is evaluated for potential discovery. This involves material radio-activity assays with cutting-edge equipment operated at UCL and the UK’s Boulby Underground Laboratory, and developing simulations to model signals in LZ. There are many exciting areas of research in LZ beyond these activities, and the exact scope of the PhD research project would be developed with the successful candidate. The studentship covers the duration of the PhD, including a tax-free bursary (this was £15,726 in 2013/4, inclusive of London allowance) and studentship fees, for up to 3.5 years. Additional financial support is provided to cover short-term and long-term travel.
Applicants should hold (or be about to receive) a degree in physics, and the full egibility requirements match the STFC requirements listed here.
Further details, and the information on how to apply can be found at this link.
Please direct any enquiries to Dr. Chamkaur Ghag, c.ghag AT ucl.ac.uk
To ensure they receive full consideration, interested candidates should submit their applications by 17th June 2016.