Funded PhD Studentship: DTC PHYS 50 - Precision spectroscopy of antihydrogen: precision measurements of the 1s-2s transition in antihydrogen

Swansea University is a UK top 30 institution for research excellence (Research Excellence Framework 2014), and has been named Welsh University of the Year 2017 by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Swansea Science DTC is a community committed to undertaking world-class research that has a positive impact globally and we have a fully-funded PhD scholarship for 2017/2018 entry.

Our state-of-the-art facilities include: a low-energy positron beam with dedicated instrumentation for the study of positronium, a number of continuous-wave and pulsed laser systems, and scanning tunnelling, near-field optical and Raman microscopes. High-performance computing resources are available via clusters and dedicated supercomputers.

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), over 80% of our Physics’ research outputs were judged to be worldleading or internationally excellent. Research is equally split between experimental and theoretical physics, and is funded via the UK Research Councils (STFC and EPSRC), the Royal Society, the Leverhulme Trust and the European Union.

In experimental physics, we lead the ALPHA collaboration, based at CERN, whose goal is to create, trap and manipulate anti-hydrogen. Results of the ALPHA collaboration are regularly published in Nature and featured on the BBC, CNN and other media. In 2011 the American Physical Society awarded the John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research to this group. In the Atomic, Molecular and Quantum Physics Group, we also carry out research on ultra-cold atoms, optomechanical systems, ultra-fast lasers, nanotechnology, quantum control with applications in medical imaging, as well as theoretical quantum computation and simulation.

Research in the Theoretical Particle Physics group is focused on all aspects of particle physics, from collider physics phenomenology and the Higgs boson to string theory, black holes and theoretical cosmology. The Lattice QCD group studies the strong interaction under extreme conditions and physics beyond the Standard Model, for which it has ample access to high-performance computing resources in the UK and in Europe.

Description:

Antimatter appears to be almost entirely absent from our Universe in contradiction of predictions based on the Standard Model of particle physics. We are investigating this conundrum by looking for hitherto undetected differenced between matter and antimatter by studying laboratory made and trapped antihydrogen in the ALPHA experiment at CERN. In this proposed project we are planning precision measurements of the 1s-2s transition in antihydrogen, a transition measured to 15 decimal places in hydrogen and therefore offering the most precise comparison of matter and antimatter possible.