PhD projects for Oct 2014 entry
For details about funding and how to apply, please visit this page.
1) Direct detection of dark matter and global fits
Identifying the nature of the dark matter (DM) that inhabits the Universe is arguably the most compelling undertaking in astrophysics and particle physics today. Current searches for DM include:
– The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN collides high-energy protons with the aim of discovering new massive particles (such as the recently discovered Higgs boson). A possible explanation for DM is that it is part of a family of yet-undiscovered particles.
– Direct detection experiments use underground detectors to measure the recoil energy of DM particles scattering off a target material. Some experiments (DAMA/LIBRA, Cogent, CRESST) have claimed a DM signal, but are contradicted by other data (Xenon100, CDMS, LUX).
– Indirect detection experiments target the annihilation products of distant DM-DM collisions, such as high-energy photons (gamma rays) and neutrinos, using the space-based Fermi/LAT gamma-ray observatory and neutrino telescopes such as IceCube.
Direct detection experiments are poised to make major discoveries in the next 5 years, when the first generation of ton-scale detectors comes online. This is expected to probe the totality of the favoured region of the DM parameter space for some simple supersymmetric scenarios.
This project aims at developing new methods to extract DM properties from direct detection experiments data, in particular Xenon and, in the future, DARWIN, as well as to understand how astrophysical uncertainties entering in the interpretation can be brought under control. A second strand of the work will involve combining such data into the “global fits” approach, an overarching statistical framework to constrain beyond the Standard Model theories for dark matter using all of the available experimental probes (colliders, direct and indirect detection, as well as cosmology).
This project has a theoretical component, a statistical component and a numerical aspect. Good programming skills are an advantage but not required a priori. Interest in data analysis and coding is mandatory.
2) Cosmology and fundamental physics with the Euclid satellite
Euclid is a European Space Agency mission due to be launched around 2019. Euclid is a satellite equipped with a 1.2 m telescope and three imaging and spectroscopic instruments working in the visible and near-infrared wavelength domains. The main goal of Euclid is to understand the origin of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Euclid will explore the expansion history of the Universe and the evolution of cosmic structures by measuring shapes and redshifts of galaxies as well as the distribution of clusters of galaxies over a large fraction of the sky. It will produce an unprecedented data set – the plan is to image a billion of galaxies and measure nearly 100 millions of galaxy redshifts. This will allow cosmologists to crack the mysteries of dark energy.
This project will study the capabilities of Euclid to constrain dark energy properties using multiple probes (lensing, clusters and supernovae). It will produce detailed forecasts for the measurements of fundamental physics quantities achievable with Euclid, and will develop a data analysis pipeline in view of the science extraction from Euclid. Methods and tools developed in this context will also be tested and applied on current and upcoming data sets, such as SDSS and DES.
This project has a theoretical component, a statistical component and a numerical aspect. Good programming skills are an advantage but not required a priori. Interest in data analysis and coding is mandatory.
