PhD in Astrochemistry

A PhD position is available in the field of Experimental Astrochemistry. This project is in competition with other projects offered by the School of Physical Sciences for one of a number of Vice Chancellor’s PhD Studentships.

The aim of the project is to study the routes of formation of molecules in the interstellar medium.

The interstellar medium (ISM) is a rich chemical factory, with over 180 molecular species identified to date, mostly observed in star-forming regions. Star formation begins in dense molecular clouds, where cold (~10 K) interstellar dust provides the surfaces for atoms and molecules to “freeze-out”, forming icy mantles. These icy mantles are the largest molecular reservoirs in the ISM, where chemical reactions, driven by both non-thermal and thermal processes, produce more complex molecules that are subsequently released into the gas phase.

The successful candidate will investigate the physical and chemical properties of astrochemical ices in a controlled laboratory environment using ultra-high vacuum chambers and cryogenically cooled substrates to grow interstellar ice analogues. Layers of thin sub-micrometer pure or mixed/layered ices are grown by vapour deposition. The ices are characterised in situ, using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) on-site or Vacuum Ultraviolet spectroscopy via access to synchrotron facilities (ASTRID2 in Aarhus, Denmark; and the Taiwan Synchrotron facility). The FTIR and VUV spectra are highly sensitive to the ice morphology and the interaction between the molecular species in the ice, and are also used to monitor any changes as a result of thermal (controlled heating) or non-thermal (UV, electron or ion irradiation) processing. Additionally, mass spectroscopy is used to monitor the species that are released into the gas phase (desorption and sputtering) during processing.

A systematic laboratory study of the synthesis of molecular species as a function of ice temperature, morphology and composition as well as the energy, flux and type of processing radiation will be performed and the results compared both with observations and state of the art chemical models of the ISM.

The successful candidate will be based at the University of Kent’s main campus in Canterbury as part of the Centre for Astronomy and Planetary Sciences and work under the supervision of Professor Nigel Mason.

This PhD Studentship is due to start in September, 2019.