Physics: Fully Funded Swansea University and the University of Edinburgh PhD Scholarship: Lattice field theory going beyond the Standard Model

Funding providers: Swansea University's Faculty of Science and Engineering and the University of Edinburgh's School of Physics and Astronomy

Subject areas: Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science

Project start date:  

• 1 October 2024 (Enrolment open from mid-September)

Project supervisors: 

• A (Primary): Professor Maurizio Piai (Physics, Swansea University - [Email Address Removed])
• B (Secondary): Dr Ed Bennett (Software Engineering, Maths, Swansea University - [Email Address Removed])
• C (Secondary): Professor Biagio Lucini (Maths, Swansea University - [Email Address Removed])
• D (External): Professor Luigi Del Debbio (School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh - [Email Address Removed])  

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Physics

Mode of study: Full-time

Project description: 

The STFC list of science challenges for the particle physics and astrophysics community highlights the need to find viable extensions of the Standard Model, to explain dark matter, dark energy, matter/antimatter asymmetry, origin of the electroweak scale. Strongly coupled Sp(2N) gauge theories provide a compelling environment to address these challenges.

The Swansea University and the University of Edinburgh Lattice Field Theory groups are uniquely positioned to perform precision calculations characterising Sp(2N) theories, having led pioneering numerical studies. As part of an established collaboration including researchers in Korea, Taiwan and other partner Institutions, we developed new cutting-edge (open source) software working on GPU- and CPU-based supercomputing architectures, opening unprecedented opportunities for worldwide leadership in this computationally intensive research subfield.

The student will join this world leading research programme, performing numerical studies of new strongly coupled field theories taking advantage of supercomputing resources at facilities based in Swansea, in the United Kingdom, and overseas. The student will perform the first extended, high precision numerical study of such models, computing their spectroscopy and phase structure, and benchmarking phenomenological applications at the crossover between particle physics and astrophysics.

This joint PhD programme is co-hosted, co-financed and co-supervised between Swansea University and the University of Edinburgh. A mobility programme will allow the student to take advantage of scientific and training opportunities available at both Institutions. They will join a vibrant, diverse, international community, with established record of delivering excellence in research, training, and student supervision, and with extended international network of research collaborations, based at the Particle Physics and Cosmology Theory group at Swansea University, as well as at the School of Physics and Astronomy and the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh.

Eligibility

Candidates must hold a UK bachelor’s degree with a minimum of Upper Second Class honours or overseas bachelor’s degree deemed equivalent to UK Bachelor (by UK ECCTIS) and achieved a grade equivalent to UK Upper Second Class honours. 

OR a master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’ (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University).

English Language: IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.0) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. 

This scholarship is open to candidates of any nationality.