PhD student in experimental particle physics at Uppsala University and the University of Göttingen

Published: 2022-05-11

The research conducted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy encompasses a wide range of physics topics, distributed over ten divisions. The department is located in the Ångström laboratory and employs nearly 400 people, 125 of whom are doctoral students. It offers a broad physics curriculum to undergraduate and graduate students, participation in nationally and internationally leading projects for researchers, and opportunities for partnership with industry and various outreach activities. Read more at www.physics.uu.se.

We are looking for a qualified and highly motivated candidate who is willing to carry out research and studies towards a PhD degree in the field of experimental particle physics. The successful candidate will join two research groups participating in the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), at both Uppsala University and the University of Göttingen (Germany), in the framework of a double PhD degree. In particular, it is envisioned that the candidate will spend the first two years in Göttingen, before being based in Uppsala for the second half of the PhD thesis, up to and including the defence.

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Research topic
CERN’s LHC and the ATLAS experiment are at the forefront of fundamental research in high-energy physics. The important goal of discovering the Higgs boson was achieved in 2012, but the LHC and its detectors were also designed to explore physics beyond the Standard Model. During Run 2 (2015-2018), the LHC collided protons at an energy of 13 TeV. Run 3 is now starting, with an increased collision energy of 13.6 TeV and more intense beams of protons. The Run 3 dataset to be collected 2022-2025 is expected to be twice larger than that recorded during Run 2.

For a complete validation of the Standard Model, one must establish and measure the so-called Higgs boson self-coupling, through the observation of the simultaneous production of two Higgs bosons in proton-proton collisions. In addition, such experimental signatures also appear in several theoretical scenarios beyond the Standard Model. Therefore, the main goal of the research project is to probe both one of the fundamental mechanisms of the Standard Model as well as theoretical models beyond it, by using final states that are consistent with two Higgs bosons.

The research groups of Arnaud Ferrari (Uppsala) and Stan Lai (Göttingen) are members of the international collaboration that operates the ATLAS experiment, which collects LHC proton-proton collision data at CERN. The successful candidate is thus expected to contribute to the research programme of the ATLAS Collaboration and, in particular, be involved in search for pairs of Higgs bosons with tau-lepton and b-quark final states. While in Uppsala, the successful candidate will also be engaged in theoretical interpretation work of Higgs boson pair search results in collaboration with Prof. Stefano Moretti of the Theoretical High Energy Physics (THEP) group.

Duties
PhD positions are funded for four years, extendable to a maximum of five years if department duties at a level of at most 20% (typically teaching) are undertaken. In addition to the research duties listed above, the PhD candidate will also have to fulfil a minimum of 40 course credits during the duration of the PhD studies.

The successful candidate is expected to actively participate in the research activities of the hosting groups. Additionally, as a member of a large international collaboration like ATLAS, PhD students regularly present their work in collaboration meetings and are expected to perform some degree of service work for the collaboration within the duration of the position, in the form of duties that are not directly related to the research subject of the PhD thesis. It is envisaged that such service work include studies of triggers as well as data-taking shifts. Research stays at CERN are possible during this four year period, and opportunities for pedagogical development can also be offered.

Requirements
The successful candidate must have a strong interest in working in an international environment, in experimental particle physics, and also with phenomenologists. The successful candidate should have completed a Master degree (or equivalent) in physics, with emphasis in particle physics, or be in a position to obtain such a degree before admission to the PhD program.

Good software and data-analysis skills, e.g. in machine learning techniques or statistical analyses, are considered as an additional merit for this PhD position.

Finally, good communication skills in English are required.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 1 October 2022 or as agreed. Placement: Göttingen (two years) and Uppsala (two years).

For further information about the position, please contact: Arnaud Ferrari, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala, Sweden, arnaud.ferrari@physics.uu.se; Stan Lai, Physikalisches Institut, Göttingen, Germany, stan.lai@phys.uni-goettingen.de.

Applications should include a curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, and copies of the degrees attained. Please submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system. In addition, two letters of reference should be arranged and sent to Arnaud Ferrari and Stan Lai.

Please submit your application by 31 May 2022, UFV-PA 2022/1820.

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Submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system.