PhD studentship on SNO+ reactor antineutrino oscillation analysis (2022)

What you get

• 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 support grant for three and a half years of £1,650 per year for travel and conferences.
• If you are not a UK national, nor an EU national with UK settled/pre-settled status, you will need to apply for a student study visa before admission

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

PhD project

Applications are invited from talented and creative students for a PhD place in Experimental Particle Physics, to join the Sussex group working on the SNO+ experiment under the supervision of Dr Lisa Falk. SNO+ offers a rich programme of neutrino physics, which includes neutrinoless double beta decay, antineutrinos from reactors and geothermal activity, solar neutrinos and a supernova watch. It is located at SNOLAB, 2 km underground in the Creighton mine in Canada. The experiment recently completed the filling of liquid scintillator. Data-taking, which commenced in 2017, will continue as we prepare for the introduction of the double beta decay isotope.

The successful candidate is expected to work on the analysis of antineutrinos from nearby nuclear reactors, focusing on an oscillation measurement that will help resolve the current 2 sigma difference between the solar and reactor neutrino results from previous experiments. The student will also spend some fraction of their time developing software for the calibration of the experiment and for data quality assurance, as well as participating in SNO+ experimental operations.

The project is likely to involve spending an extended period of time at SNOLAB.

Eligibility

Applicants must hold, or expect to hold, at least a UK upper second class degree (or non-UK equivalent qualification) in Physics, or a closely-related area, or else a lower second class degree followed by a relevant Master's degree.

This award is open to UK and International students.

Deadline

31 March 2022 23:45

How to apply

Apply through the University of Sussex on-line system. 

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply/log-into-account

Select the PhD in Physics, with an entry date of September 2022.

In the Finance & Fees section, state that you wish to be considered for studentship no. EPP/STFC/04/2021

We advise early application as the position will be filled as soon as a suitable applicant can be found.

Due to the high volume of applications received, you may only hear from us if your application is successful.

Contact us

For more details about the project, please contact Dr Lisa Falk: E.Falk@sussex.ac.uk.

For practical questions about applications and/or eligibility for funding, please contact mps-pgrsupport@sussex.ac.uk

For academic questions please contact the coordinator of EPP PhD admissions, Dr W. Clark Griffith: W.C.Griffith@sussex.ac.uk

Timetable

We advise early application as the position will be filled as soon as a suitable applicant can be found.

Due to the high volume of applications received, you may only hear from us if your application is successful.