Five PhD Positions in Experimental Particle Physics

Title: Five PhD Positions in Experimental Particle Physics
Location: Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Doctoral Study: Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Ljubljana

Start Date: October 1st, 2024
Duration: 4 years
Application Deadline: May 31st, 2024
About Us: The Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI) is a leading research institution in Ljubljana, Slovenia, committed to excellence in scientific research and innovation. We are seeking highly motivated and talented students to join our team working on cutting-edge experiments, including the ATLAS and LHCb experiments at CERN, and the Belle II Experiment at KEK. Ljubljana is a vibrant, easy-to-navigate capital with easy road access to the Alps, the Adriatic, and cities such as Venice, Vienna, and Munich.

The Experimental Particle Physics Department (F9 - https://www-f9.ijs.si/en/) at JSI is currently comprised of over 20 faculty members and staff scientists and over 10 PhD students and postdocs. A significant part of the group is involved in detector R&D: Cherenkov detectors and their applications in medical imaging (https://photodetectors.ijs.si), and solid-state detectors for the ATLAS Phase-II upgrade (ITk, HGTD, BCM). The group also plays a leading role in the newly formed DRD3 (https://drd3.web.cern.ch) and DRD4 (https://drd4.web.cern.ch) collaborations. The group is strongly involved in physics data analysis at Belle II and ATLAS experiments, ranging from measurements of rare processes with B meson decays at Belle II to direct searches for new phenomena and Higgs and Standard Model precision measurements at the ATLAS Experiment. The group has recently won two ERC projects: FAIME (https://faime.ijs.si) and its spin-off CherPET, a proof-of-concept ERC project aiming to apply the detectors developed in particle physics to advances in medical imaging methods.

Position Overview: As a PhD student, you will have the opportunity to contribute to ground breaking research in experimental particle physics. Several positions are available, spanning the analysis of experimental data within the framework of the ATLAS and Belle II collaborations to detector research and development for the ATLAS and LHCb experiments. The workplace for all positions will be the JSI, Ljubljana, with possible shorter or longer periods at CERN, Geneva, or KEK, Japan. Your doctoral studies will be conducted at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Ljubljana, with guidance from experienced supervisors from both institutions.

ATLAS Experiment Positions:
Topic: Machine learning-assisted data analysis at ATLAS
Contacts: Miha Muškinja (miha.muskinja@ijs.si), Borut Kersevan (borut.kersevan@ijs.si)
Topic: Development of semiconductor detectors for charged particle tracking for future experiments at particle colliders
Contact: Igor Mandic (igor.mandic@ijs.si)

Belle II & LHCb Experiment Positions:
Topic: Measurements of rare processes at B meson decays at the Belle II experiment
Contact: Marko Bračko (marko.bracko@ijs.si)
Topic: Particle identification system upgrade at LHCb
Contact: Rok Pestotnik (rok.pestotnik@ijs.si)

Benefits:

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience.
• Full doctoral scholarship at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Ljubljana.
• Full health coverage plan.
• Opportunity for professional development and networking within the international particle physics community.
• Supportive and collaborative work environment.

General Inquiries: f9-jobs@ijs.si or respective contacts listed above for specific inquiries.

Application Process: Send your motivation letter and CV to f9-jobs@ijs.si and arrange for up to three reference letters to be sent to the same address.