PhD studentship in Quantum Technology for Fundamental Physics (2021)
What you get
- A tax free bursary for living costs for three and a half years. From October 2021 this is expected to be £15560 per year, rising annually in line with Research Council minimum stipends.
- Fees waived at the UK level for three and a half years.
- A sum of £1650 per year for conferences, travel, and additional training.
- Additional funding to support placements with outside partners for up to 6 months in total may become available.
Type of award
Postgraduate Research
PhD project
The goal of the project at Sussex is to measure the frequency of a vibrational transition in molecular nitrogen ions with unparalleled precision and compare it with an electronic transition in calcium ions. The nitrogen ion's vibrational transition and the calcium ion's electronic transition exhibit different sensitivities to the proton-to-electron mass ratio, and therefore any relative changes in the frequencies of these transitions can be used to establish the degree to which the proton-to-electron mass ratio is constant.
In order to measure the vibrational frequency, a single molecular nitrogen ion will be trapped alongside a single calcium ion. The calcium ion will be used to read out the state of the molecule using a quantum logic spectroscopy scheme. A second ion trap system, which will hold a single calcium ion, will be used as a reference for the frequency comparison.
The project will employ existing systems in the ITCM Group at Sussex and expand it in order to facilitate the frequency comparison. With the two ion traps and the molecular beam line in place, the focus of the project will be to expand the laser system for the vibrational frequency measurement, implement the quantum logic spectroscopy scheme and measure the frequency ratio of the transitions within nitrogen and calcium.
The ITCM Group, which operates several ion-trap systems for research in quantum information and precision spectroscopy. The group currently consists of two research fellows, six PhD students, two MSc and three undergraduate project students lead by Prof Keller. You can read more about us here: http://itcm-sussex.com
Skills and training:
An important part of this PhD project is the skills development and training. Local training through lecture courses, transferable skills training modules and practical training in the laboratory will be complemented by SEPnet wide training events. These include workshops and training schools.
Eligibility
Applicants should hold, or expect to hold, an undergraduate degree in physics or chemistry at a good final grade, or non-UK equivalent qualifications. If you are unsure about the equivalence of your qualifications, please contact us at mps-pgrsupport@sussex.ac.uk
This studentship is open to students of all nationalities, but will only cover tuition fees up to the value of the UK home-student fees. There are additional fees for International students which at present we are unable to fund. EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status are eligible for the UK fees waiver.
We also welcome applications from fully independently-funded International students interested in our experimental programme.
Deadline
31 May 2021 17:00How to apply
Apply online at https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply/log-into-account
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. MPS/AMO/2020/09, “quantum technology for fundamental physics”
Be sure to supply all of the required documents, particularly your transcripts and the details of two referees.
Due to the high volume of applications received, you may only hear from us if your application is successful.
Contact us
If you have practical questions about the progress of your applications or your eligibility, contact Emma Ransley at mps-pgrsupport@sussex.ac.uk
For academic questions contact the supervisor of this project, Professor Matthias Keller (m.k.keller@sussex.ac.uk)
Timetable
The position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found so early application is advised.
Interviews of shortlisted candidates will be held in February and March initially and will continue until the position is filled.
Availability
At level(s):
PG (research)
Application deadline:
31 May 2021 17:00 (GMT)
the deadline has now expired
Countries
The award is available to people from these specific countries: