Details on available studentships
SEPNET PhD studentships in Astrophysics for 2010
Two full-funded prestigious PhD studentships are available for immediate take-up, funded by SEPNET. These projects are based on collaborations between two or more SEPNET-Astro institutes which include the Universities of Southampton, Sussex, Kent, Portsmouth, Queen Mary London and Oxford, and include both observational and theory/simulation topics. The following projects are currently still open:
Funding is available for 3 years for suitably qualified EU/UK candidates. Funding comprises current UK/EU fees, a yearly stipend of £13240, and research training support of £1200 per year. These are for immediate take-up but start dates beyond January 2010 will be considered. Full details of the projects and how to apply are given below.
PhD Position in Observational Cosmology
Supervisor: Dr. Duncan Farrah (Sussex)
Co-supervisors: Dr Claudia Maraston (Portsmouth) and Dr. Seb Oliver (Sussex). Nichol (Portsmouth)
The research project aims to make important advances in our understanding of high redshift stellar and black hole mass assembly, and their dependence on the underlying dark matter distribution. Work will focus on using multiwavelength survey data to study active galaxies in the distant Universe, with primary focus on data from the 1300 hour Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey. The position is funded through the South East Physics Network (SEPNet). The successful applicant will join the Astronomy Centre at the University of Sussex, which is one of the strongest extragalactic research groups in the UK, and benefits from close ties to the theoretical cosmology group and the particle physics groups. Interested candidates should apply on-line at the University of Sussex, following the instructions at www.sussex.ac.uk/physics/1-2-23.html. In addition, applicants should arrange for two letters of recommendations, and a copy of the full application to be sent by e-mail to Dr Duncan Farrah (D.Farrah@sussex.ac.uk).
For more information/to apply for this project, please contact Dr Duncan Farrah or Dr Seb Oliver (S.Oliver@sussex.ac.uk).
Advanced modelling of electron acceleration and radio emission during solar flares.
The Astronomy Unit, Queen Mary, University of London
Supervisor: Dr. David Tsiklauri (QMUL)
Co-supervisors: Dr. Aris Karastergiou (Oxford)
Type III radio bursts are believed to come from solar flare electrons that travel upwards, away from the Sun, on open magnetic field lines. The proposed project aims to fill the gap in understanding how the upwards moving electrons are accelerated and produce the observed radio emission. This will be achieved through adequate, kinetic-scale Particle-In-Cell modelling of the phenomenon and numerical simulation results will be compared with radio and other wavelength observations. Similar approach will be used to study the energy release in solar coronal non-flaring active regions. Comparison of the Particle-In-Cell numerical simulation results with the LOFAR data will enable to address the major science questions such as (i) generation of radio emission in the solar corona by accelerated electrons and (ii) the physics of magnetic energy release/conversion. The project benefits from access to large-scale parallel 1000 core processor cluster via UKMHD consortium, while the radio data will be available via participation of QMUL in LOFAR-UK and SEPnet Astro consortia. The LOw Frequency ARray, LOFAR (http://www.lofar-uk.org/), is a next-generation software-driven telescope currently under construction in the Netherlands and UK.
For more information/to apply for this project, please contact D.Tsiklauri [AT] qmul.ac.uk.