Study of the structure of exotic nuclei using techniques of gamma-ray spectroscopy (PHDEN012 & PHDEN013)

Two fully-funded PhD studentships are available in the Nuclear Physics Research Group at the University of the West of Scotland. The PhD projects will be concerned with the study of the structure of exotic atomic nuclei, within with one of several different research themes within our group. Our research is mostly carried out at large overseas facilities using state-of-the-art methods of nuclear spectroscopy. Some of the main facilities where we conduct our research are Argonne National Laboratory (Chicago), ISOLDE-CERN (Geneva), Legnaro National Laboratory (Padova, Italy), RIKEN (Japan), Institut Laue Langevin (Grenoble, France), and JYFL (Jyväskylä, Finland). We are involved with the development and exploitation of the major new AGATA gamma-ray spectrometer, and with the NuSTAR project at GSI. A new theme in our research programme is the study of laser-induced nuclear physics, studying nuclear reactions induced by the interactions of high-power lasers. As such, we are involved with the development of SCAPA – the Scottish Centre for the Application of Plasma-based Accelerators, which is currently under construction in Glasgow. Within this general overview of our research, the specific details of the PhD projects can be discussed.

We are a founding member of the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA) – a pioneering research-pooling initiative which includes a Graduate School, offering a wealth of postgraduate lecture courses and other opportunities.

The studentships will have a start date of 1st October 2013. The studentships will cover fees and provide a standard research-council stipend of £13,726 per year. Applicants should have, or expect to be awarded, a 1st-class or 2.1 honours degree in Physics. As much of our research is carried out abroad, applicants should have a willingness to travel. The closing date for applications is 14th June 2013.