Announcement of the Director of Doctoral School from 8 August 2024 on special admission for the Physics education programme at the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences for the year 2024/25; language of education: English
Special Admission
European Research Council (ERC)
Consolidator Grant 2022 (101089312 HYADES)
Education programme: Physics
Proposed title of the doctoral dissertation: Dedicated gas module for the HYADES space mission
Number of vacancies: 1 doctoral student
Principal Investigator: dr. Michał Drahus
Department of Stellar and Extragalactic Astronomy,
Institute – Astronomical Observatory,
Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science
PhD Supervisor: dr hab. Tomasz Kawalec
Department of Photonics, Marian Smoluchowski Institute of Physics
Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science
Project description:
The HYADES project directly derives from the vast research possibilities offered by Low Earth Orbit, and aims at a construction of a small space telescope designed specifically to detect hydrogen and deuterium around comets and asteroids through the ultra-luminous Lyman alpha transition (in the far ultraviolet). Thanks to the unparalleled sensitivity to these atoms, the satellite under development will provide definite answers to some of the most profound problems of the near Universe.
First, it will enable determination of the isotopic composition in water for dozens of comets of different types. These measurements will ultimately resolve the puzzle of cometary origin of water on Earth and unveil the link between present-day cometary reservoirs and their original place of formation in the solar nebula.
Second, the satellite will allow studies into the hydrogen content around main-belt comets, providing precious information about water-ice outgassing from these bodies. Data of excellent quality will be obtained both for known objects of this class and new main-belt comets soon to be discovered by LSST, transforming our knowledge of the ice reservoir in the outer Main Belt.
Finally, the satellite will enable ultra-sensitive searches for hydrogen clouds around future interstellar objects passing through the Solar System, with direct implications to our understanding of orbital anomalies in the absence of visible dust (such as observed in ‘Oumuamua), as well as physical nature of these bodies in general.
As part of his or her PhD project, the successful candidate will work on the construction, testing, and calibration of the dedicated gas module – a key component of the HYADES satellite.
Candidate profile:
- MSc degree in physics (no later than the time of enrollment)
- Experience in experimental atomic physics
- Excellent academic track record
- Interest in the project objectives and motivation to participate in the planned research (see before)
- Proficiency in English
Additional (optional) qualifications:
- Experience in designing and making electronic circuits
- Knowledge of LaTeX environment and Wolfram Mathematica software
Combination of education at a Doctoral School and employment at the University:
The recruitment will be conducted by the Admission Committee. Successful candidates will be admitted to the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences of the Jagiellonian University and employed by the University at the rank of Research Assistant. Employment is conditional upon meeting the formal requirements for the Research Assistant position in the Research Staff workgroup and enrollment in the Doctoral School. Commencing education at the Doctoral School is conditional upon being hired for the Research Assistant position through the announced opening.
We offer:
- Stable employment at the rank of Research Assistant on a 48-month employment contract
- Gross monthly salary of about EUR 2700 (due to the salary amount, the appointed person will not be eligible for the usual doctoral scholarship)
- High-quality mobile workstation for personal use to carry out project-related tasks
- Unlimited access to the team’s computing resources
- Financial support for travel expenses related to project work
- Benefits including sports activities, the option to purchase a Multisport Card, medical packages, and group insurance
- Additional social benefits
Competition schedule:
- August 2024 – announcement of the competition on the Doctoral School website
- August 2024 – opening of the competition (start of accepting applications in the IRK system)
- August 2024 – Deadline for submitting applications (closing date for IRK applications)
- September 2024 – entrance exams
- September 2024 – announcement of results (in the IRK system)
- 6-15. September 2024 – enrollment in the Doctoral School*
- October 2024 or later – expected start date of education
*enrollment possible during working hours of Secretariats of the Education Programmes
Admission procedure
The same rules as for regular recruitment apply:
- detailed admission conditions for the Physics education programme
- general recruitment rules – resolution of the Jagiellonian University Senate
Required documents
- All documents required for regular recruitment:
- (see file: Required documents)
The recruitment procedure (including uploading documents) is carried out via the IRK (Online Application System) – IRK.uj.edu.pl
Contact
project issues − Principal Investigator:
dr Michał Drahus, drahus@oa.uj.edu.pl
procedural issues − Secretary of the Recruitment Committee:
mgr Alicja Sołtys, tel.: 0048 12 664 86 25; alicja.soltys@uj.edu.pl
More information:
