Postdoctoral Position: Research Fellow in Neutrino Physics (Ref:IN:04073475)
The UCL High Energy Physics group is seeking two outstanding PhD particle physicists to join the UCL long-baseline neutrino oscillation group. The group have a long history of neutrino oscillation experiments from MINOS and MINOS+, through NOvA to CHIPS and DUNE. The successful candidates will be expected to take up a leading role in physics analysis with the NOvA data and to make significant contributions to either the DUNE or CHIPS experiments. Our physics interests are focused on the search for CP violation in the lepton sector and precision measurements of neutrino mixing.
NOvA is an active experiment which is currently taking data using two detectors in the world's most powerful neutrino beam, the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beam at Fermilab. The two NOvA detectors are separated by 810km, making it the longest baseline accelerator neutrino experiment currently operational, with unique sensitivity to matter effects as the neutrinos travel through the Earth.
The CHIPS experiment is a novel water Cherenkov detector which will study neutrino oscillations in the NuMI beam. The detector is currently being commissioned in northern Minnesota, offering the successful candidate the opportunity for real hands-on experience of detector development, operation and analysis.
The DUNE experiment is the flagship future experiment of Fermilab, and will operate liquid argon time-projection chamber detectors in the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) neutrino beam which will send neutrinos from Fermilab to South Dakota. UCL's involvement in DUNE is focused on the data acquisition system, near detector, reconstruction, simulation and analysis software, and development of a system for monitoring the purity of the liquid argon.
The successful candidates will be expected to have a significant analysis contributions to the NOvA experiment and to contribute to either the CHIPS or DUNE experiments.
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.
These positions are funded for three years in the first instance.
The salary will be in the Researcher Grade 7 range: £35,965 - £43,470 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 Shanice Thomas, shanice.thomas@ucl.ac.uk, (+44 (0)20 7679 3943).
Informal enquiries regarding the vacancy can be made to Prof. Ryan Nichol or Prof. Jenny Thomas, nu_ra_2020@ucl.ac.uk (Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 7266).
Closing Date: 23:59 on 29th February 2020.