Postdoctoral Position: LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Dark Matter Search Experiment (Ref:1805606)
The UCL High Energy Physics Group has an immediate opening for an outstanding PhD particle or astroparticle physicist to work on the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Dark Matter Search Experiment.
LZ brings together the LUX and ZEPLIN projects to construct a multi-tonne two-phase liquefied xenon time projection chamber. The purified xenon target is held in an ultra-low background containment vessel, in turn surrounded by an outer detector and water tank for shielding, and located in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) at Homestake mine, South Dakota, USA. The construction of LZ is nearing completion and data taking for the most sensitive search for galactic dark matter to-date is set to begin in Spring 2020.
The applicant will be expected to contribute across many areas of the experiment including completion of construction and commissioning on-site at SURF, calibrations, Monte Carlo simulations and, in particular, take a leading role in the analysis of the science datasets where UCL holds major areas of responsibility.
The applicant is also expected to support and develop the world-class low-background facilities at UCL used for LZ and for R&D towards a future 3rd generation (G3) rare event observatory for dark matter searches and neutrino physics. Our facilities include gamma spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, radon emanation and plate-out, and high precision cleanliness techniques.
The UCL High Energy Physics Group is one of the larger groups in the country and consists of around 80 staff comprising academics, long-term fellows, research staff, technical/computing staff and PhD students. The Group provides an exciting and supportive research environment with involvement in particle phenomenology, neutrino experiments, direct Dark Matter searches, Particle Astrophysics, lepton sector experiments, accelerator R&D and Data Intensive Science via our Centre for Doctoral Training.
This position is funded for 3 years in the first instance.
The salary will be in the Researcher Grade 7 range: £35,328 - £42,701 per annum, depending on skills and experience.
For further details about the vacancy and how to apply online please go to this link.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Jim Levin, james.levin@ucl.ac.uk, (+44 (0)20 7679 3943).
Informal enquiries regarding the vacancy can be made to Dr Chamkaur Ghag, c.ghag@ucl.ac.uk (Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 3463).
Closing Date: 23:59 on 10th June 2019.