PhD position

The Department of Electromagnetism and Electronics at the University of Murcia, Spain, opens a call for applications for a PhD contract (4 years), financed by the Ministry of Science, in the frame of the R+D project MULTI-ION: Energy transport and dissipation processes in the inner heliosphere: the role of magnetic reconnection and cyclotron waves in multi-ion plasmas.

Project description                        

The successful candidate will perform original research in the frame of the project MULTI-ION, financed by the Ministry of Science and Education, Spain. Magnetic reconnection and wave-particle interactions are universal processes for converting magnetic energy into kinetic energy in plasmas. They are of particular interest in space plasmas, where the effect of particle collisions is often negligible. Our Sun’s heliosphere constitutes an accessible natural laboratory to study in detail how these two processes operate. The specific aim of this project is to understand how the magnetic field energy originated in the Sun is transported and dissipated through the heliosphere. The successful candidate will analyze in-situ data of the satellite missions Solar Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe and/or Magnetospheric Multiscale to advance our understanding of two key plasma processes, namely magnetic reconnection and ion cyclotron waves. The satellite observations will be contrasted to analytical and numerical models which are developed within the project. The candidate is expected to collaborate with scientists at various international institutions, carry out doctoral stays at these institutions and attend international conferences.

Eligibility

• MSc in a field relevant to the project (e.g. physics, astronomy, mathematics, computer science).
• Only those eligible to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. The selected candidate must fulfill this requirement by the time of signing the contract (~April 2022).
• The applicant must not hold already a PhD.

If you are interested, please send an email to sergio.toledo@um.es with subject ‘PhD position Multi-ion’,