Dark matter search with DUNE (2020)

What you get

You will receive:

• fully funded tuition fees for 3.5 years (at the UK/EU rate)
• a tax-free bursary for living costs for 3.5 years. For 2019/20 this is £15,009 per annum.
• funds for computing, books, open access publishing, attendance at conferences and workshops.

You may also supplement your income with paid teaching (with your supervisor’s agreement).

Type of award

Post Graduate Research

PhD project

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be the next generation neutrino observatory. This 40 ktonne liquid argon TPC will be located 1 mile underground in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota and be exposed to the world's most intense accelerator driven neutrino beam from Fermilab near Chicago. Its science goals are to study neutrino oscillation, determine if there is CP violation in the lepton sector and make precision measurements of oscillation parameters. It will also search for GUT signals like proton decay or neutron anti-neutron oscillations and act as a telescope for neutrinos coming from supernova explosions and the sun. In addition, dark Matter can be gravitationally trapped in the sun, annihilate, and produce neutrinos, which can then be detected by DUNE. This studentship would involve developing the methods for triggering and detecting dark matter generated neutrinos as well as determining the sensitivity to these signatures. The student will work at the interface between theory and experiment, especially in the DAQ system. Some of the algorithms developed during the studentship can be tested in the next run of the ProtoDUNE detectors at CERN in 2021. The project is under the supervision of Professor Simon Peeters, in partnership with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) Particle Physics Department (PPD). RAL-PPD is at the heart of the UK activities in DUNE, providing overall leadership and project management in the UK as well as the international technical lead for DAQ systems of the far detector.

Full funding is available to UK nationals for a September 2020 start, with a tax-free bursary (£15,009 per annum in 2019/20) and tuition fees for 3.5 years. Additional financial support is provided to cover short-term and long-term travel. Interviews of shortlisted candidates will be held in February and March. We also welcome applications from self-funded non-UK students interested in our experimental programme.

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/epp/

 

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must:

• be a UK student.
• have (or expect to achieve) a First or Upper Second Class Masters degree in Physics, or a related subject.

• We also welcome applications from self-funded non-EU students interested in our experimental programme.

Deadline

29 February 2020 12:00

How to apply

Apply through the postgraduate application system and select the full time PhD in Physics with a September 2020 start date

Applications will be considered until the position has been filled.

When you apply, you should include:

• the supervisor’s name (Prof Simon Peeters) in the ‘Suggested supervisor’ section
• 'Dark matter search with DUNE' in the Award Detail Section
• a research proposal/personal statement which describes your suitability for the project
• 2 academic references
• your transcripts from any previously obtained degrees. If you have not yet completed your undergraduate degree, you can provide an interim transcript or record of any marks obtained so far.

The position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found so you are encouraged to apply as soon as you are able to. 

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 Prof Simon Peeters: S.J.M.Peeters@sussex.ac.uk).

For practical questions about applications and/or eligibility for funding, please contact: mpsresearchsupport@sussex.ac.uk

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