Enhance your academic and career prospects by participating in PhD Studentship in Physics and Astronomy offered by the University of Sussex for the academic session 2021-2022.
The successful applicants will be expected to contribute to Sussex’s technical commitments to the ATLAS experiment.
Summary
| Scholarship Sponsor | University of Sussex |
| Scholarships level | PhD studentship |
| Award Amount | £15,560 per year |
| Fellowship Period | Three years |
| Study area | Physics & Astronomy |
| Opening date | March 02, 2021 |
| Closing date | April 04, 2021 |
Project Description
Funded and self-funded PhD projects are available to work on the ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) under the supervision of Professor Antonella De Santo.
Available projects are well synchronised with the start of the LHC Run-3, which will lead to the collection of unprecedented amounts of proton-proton collisions at the highest energies ever reached at a collider. Successful applicants will join Sussex’s leading programme of data-intensive searches for new physics phenomena beyond the Standard Model (BSM) in multileptonic final states at ATLAS, using Run-2 and Run-3 data samples collected by the experiment.
Multileptonic “signatures” are characteristic of a wide range of exciting BSM scenarios, which aim to shed light on some of the most pressing questions in fundamental physics – such as the origin of dark matter in our universe or the fundamental nature of neutrino masses. Models to be explored include the production of weakly interacting supersymmetric particles known as charginos and neutralinos or the production of exotic heavy neutral leptons as encountered in seesaw models of neutrino masses.
Sussex’s principal technical involvement in ATLAS is through the experiment’s trigger system, including a focus on the ATLAS detector’s future upgrades. Commensurately with their role and in synergy with their other research and training activities. Example of trigger-related activities that Sussex students have significantly contributed to in recent years include software developments for the ATLAS Inner Detector system or the characterisation of key properties of electron-based triggers.
Professor De Santo is the ATLAS team leader at Sussex. She is a leading researcher in BSM signal searches, with an established track record as a successful supervisor and mentor of early-career researchers. The Sussex ATLAS team, which counts approximately twenty members, offers a dynamic and supportive environment where each team member can thrive.
Application Deadline
The deadline for applications is April 04, 2021
Eligibility Criteria
- Open to students from the UK, EU and Overseas.
- If you are not a UK national or an EU national with settled/pre-settled status in the UK, you may need to apply for a student study visa before admission.
- Hold or expect to have a UK upper second-class degree (or non-UK equivalent) in Physics or a closely-related area, or else a lower second-class degree followed by a relevant Master’s degree
We also welcome applications from independently-funded students interested in our experimental programme.
Award Information
- Fully-paid tuition fees for three and a half years
- A tax-free bursary for living costs for three and a half years. From October 2021/22, this is expected to be £15560 per year
- A research training support grant for three and a half years of £1,250 per year
Application Process
- Select the PhD in Physics with a September 2021 start date.
- State in the Finance & Funding section that you are applying for the STFC EPP studentship no. STFC/EPP/2020/01, “ATLAS BSM searches”
- To be considered for more than one of our STFC EPP positions, including the studentship number(s) from our other advertisements in the Finance & Funding section.
- Be sure to supply all of the required documents, particularly your transcripts and two referees’ details.
- Due to the high volume of applications received, you may only hear from us if your application is successful.
