Particle Physics PhD Research Projects PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in the UK

Developing a framework for regulatory conformance of innovative experimental nuclear reactor

Supervisors: Prof BM Merk, Dr J Coleman, Prof A Boston

Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) are a next-generation nuclear reactor technology outlined by Generation IV International Forum, fulfilling sustainability, economics, safety, and proliferation resistance goals. Read more

30 June 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Beam gas curtain monitor for the High Luminosity LHC

Supervisors: Prof C Welsch, Dr H Zhang

The QUASAR Group, based at the Cockcroft Institute, has pioneered the development of a supersonic gas jet as a non-invasive beam profile monitor. Read more

30 April 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Optical fiber-based RF-breakdown detection and prediction

Supervisors: Prof C Welsch, Dr J Wolfenden

The QUASAR Group, based at the Cockcroft Institute, in collaboration with the beam instrumentation company D-Beam Ltd, have pioneered the development and commercialization of optical fiber-based beam loss monitors for particle accelerators. Read more

30 April 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Preparation and Characterisation of ‘Green’ Photocathodes for the Generation of High-Brightness Electron Beams

Supervisor: Prof C Welsch

The quality of the electron beam in an accelerator is limited largely by that of the electron source. Fourth generation light sources such as the planned UK X-FEL and ultrafast electron diffraction projects require high-brightness electron sources. Read more

30 April 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Queen Mary University of London School of Mathematical Sciences

De Sitter matrix models and field theory

Research Group: Geometry, Analysis & Gravitation

The School of Mathematical Sciences of Queen Mary University of London invite applications for a PhD project commencing in September 2024. . Read more

Supervisor: Dr T Anous

31 May 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Strathclyde Institute of Photonics

Technologies for optogenetic neural interfacing

The ability to express light-sensitive proteins (opsins) in neurons, in a genetically-targeted fashion, has helped transform our understanding of how the brain functions. Read more

Supervisors: Prof K Mathieson, Dr SS Sakata

30 June 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Lancaster University School of Engineering

Fully-funded PhD in Sustainable High Power RF Amplifiers for Muon Colliders

A student is sought for a PhD study on the development of high efficiency RF amplifiers for the Muon Collider design study at CERN. Read more

Supervisor: Prof G Burt

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

University of Birmingham School of Physics and Astronomy

The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC

ALICE is one of the four main experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. It is a general purpose heavy-ion experiment aimed at studying QCD under extreme conditions of energy density. Read more

Supervisor: Prof D Evans

Year round applications PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

The University of Manchester Department of Physics and Astronomy

(University of Manchester - University of Tokyo Dual Award) Advanced particle tracking and real-time analysis for discoveries at the ATLAS detector at CERN

The matter that we know of constitutes only 15% of our universe - the remaining 85% is an enigmatic form of matter known as dark matter. Read more

Supervisors: Dr C Doglioni, Prof R Sawada

29 April 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Atmospheric Neutrino Mixing Studies with the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO)

Supervisors: Prof CA Andreopoulos, Prof XL Lu

Neutrinos are the most abundant massive particle in the universe. Since their discovery, neutrinos played an important role in many areas of physics. Read more

31 May 2024 PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Development of sustainable Superconducting RF for UK-XFEL

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

A student is sought for a PhD study on the development of thin film coated superconducting RF cavities for the UK X-ray Free Electron Laser (UK-XFEL) design study. Read more

Supervisor: Prof G Burt

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Searching for Lepton Flavour Violation using top quark events in the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The long-established RHUL ATLAS group is renowned for its expertise in physics (Higgs, top quark and exotic signatures involving electrons), statistical methods as well as trigger and data acquisition systems. Read more

Supervisor: Prof V Boisvert

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Searching for exotics signatures (Dark Matter/Extra Dimensions)

The long-established RHUL ATLAS group is renowned for its expertise in physics (Higgs, top quark and exotic signatures involving electrons), statistical methods and plays a leading role internationally in the ATLAS trigger and data acquisition systems. Read more

Supervisor: Dr T Berry

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Searching for Dark Matter with the Lux-Zeplin Detector

The Centre for Particle Physics at Royal Holloway is offering a PhD opportunity on the LZ experiment for direct detection of dark matter. The nature of dark matter is one of the most fundamental open questions in physics, and the LZ experiment is at the forefront of technology designed to pursue this question. Read more

Supervisor: Dr A Kaboth

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Searching for Charge-Parity Violation in Neutrino Oscillations

The Centre for Particle Physics at Royal Holloway is offering a PhD opportunity on the T2K and DUNE long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. Read more

Supervisor: Dr A Kaboth

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Particle accelerator simulations for new particle physics experiments

Particle colliders are incredibly complex and expensive devices to design, construct, operate and maintain. Read more

Supervisor: Prof S Gibson

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Higgs boson production measurement during the LHC Run 3 with the ATLAS detector

The long-established RHUL ATLAS group is renowned for its expertise in physics (Higgs, top quark and exotic signatures involving electrons), statistical methods as well as trigger and data acquisition systems. Read more

Supervisor: Prof P Teixeira-Dias

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Generation of THz radiation beams and its applications

John Adams Institute (JAI) for Accelerator Science offers a PhD opportunity in the area of advanced instrumentation, in particular, development of beyond state-of-the-art non-invasive THz generators in modern accelerator facilities based on coherent Cherenkov diffraction radiation mechanism. Read more

Supervisor: Dr P Karataev

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Development of novel statistical methods and application to searches for New Physics using the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The long-established RHUL ATLAS group has extensive expertise in physics (Higgs, top quark and exotic signatures involving electrons), statistical methods, as well as trigger and data acquisition systems. Read more

Supervisor: Prof G Cowan

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Royal Holloway, University of London Department of Physics

Theoretical Astroparticle Physics

The Theoretical Particle Physics group at Royal Holloway University of London is offering a funded PhD studentship in the field of astroparticle theory with a focus on utilising Quantum Sensors in the search for dark matter. Read more

Supervisor: Prof S West

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Super-macro-particles to improve in Particle-in-cell codes

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Particle-in-cell (PIC) codes are essential for the numerical simulation of charged particles in both conventional accelerators and plasmas. Read more

Supervisor: Dr J Gratus

University of Liverpool Cockcroft Institute

Controlling beam dynamics in high-power X-ray FELs with novel magnets

X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFELs) are large-scale accelerator facilities generating radiation beams with intensity far exceeding that of any other available source of high-energy photons. Read more

Supervisor: Prof A Wolski

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

University of Liverpool Cockcroft Institute

Understanding and Controlling Beam Losses in High-Power X-ray Free-Electron Lasers

Light sources based on electron accelerators have long been of crucial importance for scientific and engineering research in fields ranging from medicine and life sciences to the properties and structure of materials. Read more

Supervisor: Prof A Wolski

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

The University of Manchester Cockcroft Institute

FLASH VHEE Radiotherapy Machine System Design

A studentship is available from October 2024 on the development of a unique machine to deliver FLASH radiotherapy. To achieve this goal we anticipate strong collaboration with STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory and CERN. Read more

Supervisor: Prof R M. Jones

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Laser-plasma and direct-laser acceleration: high energy particle acceleration with lasers

Supervisor: Prof S Jamison

Lancaster Physics is leading a UK-wide research programme in laser-plasma acceleration utilizing high-energy particle accelerator and laser facilities at Daresbury National Laboratory. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

The Ghost Collider: developing particle accelerators with no beam transients

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Present and future high-energy electron-positron colliders are limited by two effects. the energy required to accelerate the beams and the electromagnetic beam-beam disruption. Read more

Supervisor: Dr R Apsimon

The University of Manchester Cockcroft Institute

Enhancing Superconducting Properties of SRF Thin Films by Laser Processing

Superconducting niobium cavities are the most crucial components in particle accelerators to provide the acceleration to the desired particles via RF energy with low losses. Read more

Supervisor: Dr G Xia

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

The University of Manchester Cockcroft Institute

A Hybrid Plasma Accelerator for Therapeutic Electron Beams

Would you like to join us at the University of Manchester to change the future of particle accelerators?. Using the available studentship, you will explore combining mature electron production technology with new plasma-based acceleration. Read more

Supervisor: Dr O Apsimon

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Laser-driven ultrafast electron diffraction

Year round applications PhD Research Project Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Lancaster Physics department and partners in the Cockcroft Institute are world leading in the use of femtosecond lasers and non-linear optics for manipulating electron beams. Read more

Supervisor: Dr S Jamison