Missions

A fixed-term research contract (postdoctoral position) is available within the THEMIS team of the French-Spanish Laboratory for Astrophysics in Canarias (FSLAC), an international CNRS/INSU research laboratory located in Tenerife, Spain. The position is part of the ANR-funded project JET2SB, aiming to understand the link between solar coronal jets and switchbacks.

During its unprecedented close approaches to the Sun, NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) discovered intriguing and frequent sharp deflections of the magnetic field, known as switchbacks (SB), in the solar wind. Because of their ubiquity in the inner heliosphere and their near-absence around Earth's orbit and beyond, SBs are considered key ingredients in the complex mechanisms driving solar wind generation. Solar jets—commonly observed phenomena in the solar atmosphere across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales—have recently emerged as strong candidates for triggering SB formation. The scientific objective of this position is to carry out research, partly based on optical solar observations, to address the following questions:
• Do solar jet-like events induce switchbacks (SBs), and to what extent?
• What are the physical mechanisms involved in jet propagation and SB formation?

The researcher will join the THEMIS solar telescope team. THEMIS (CNRS-INSU), a 1-meter class optical solar telescope and France's primary solar telescope, is dedicated to the study of solar magnetism and dynamic processes in the solar atmosphere (such as sunspots and solar flares). THEMIS has recently undergone major upgrades and now produces observations of unprecedented quality. The researcher will therefore also be involved in both the technical and scientific development of THEMIS.

Activities

The main expected activities include:
• Conducting innovative scientific research on solar jet physics and their role in switchback formation.
• Leading observing campaigns, especially with THEMIS; developing and improving methods for multi-instrument, ground- and space-based, and multi-wavelength data reduction and analysis of solar jets and their source regions.
• Collaborating with the JET2SB project team, in particular by providing observational constraints for numerical simulations of solar jet generation and propagation.
• Contributing to THEMIS instrumentation developments, in particular improvements of the adaptive optics system, and participating in the upcoming commissioning of the Italian spectroscopic imager IBIS2.0.
• Learning to operate the THEMIS telescope and actively participating in THEMIS observing campaigns, both as telescope operator and resident astronomer, assisting visiting observers during their campaigns.
• Disseminating research activities and results through team and project meetings, seminars, scientific articles, and conference presentations.

Skills

• PhD in astronomy, astrophysics, plasma physics and/or a related field. A publication record in peer-reviewed journals is essential.
• Advanced knowledge in solar physics, plasma physics, physical optics, spectroscopy, and/or spectropolarimetry. Full expertise in all these fields is not required, but willingness to learn across the project's topics is essential.
• Advanced knowledge of at least one data analysis language.
• English proficiency at C1 level or higher.
• Strong scientific communication skills (oral and written).
• Proven ability to work collaboratively and as part of a team.
• Interest in instrumentation and/or optical solar observations.
• Driving license required.

Work Context

The researcher will be recruited by CNRS DR16 to work at the French-Spanish Laboratory for Astrophysics in Canarias (FSLAC), an INSU international research laboratory located in Tenerife, Spain. This is a position abroad; the researcher will therefore receive the indemnité de résidence à l'étranger (IRE) (foreign residence allowance).

This fixed-term research contract is part of the upcoming JET2SB project (starting autumn 2025), funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). JET2SB brings together three French solar physics teams with fully complementary expertise, combining space- and ground-based solar atmosphere observations, in-situ measurements from heliospheric probes, and comprehensive numerical modeling of solar jet generation and propagation from the solar atmosphere to the inner heliosphere: Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (LPP); French-Spanish Laboratory for Astrophysics in Canarias (FSLAC); and Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E). The researcher will therefore interact with scientists and engineers from these three laboratories, as well as with two PhD students and another postdoctoral researcher recruited through JET2SB. The position is embedded in a highly dynamic research effort.

Within the JET2SB project, dedicated funds are allocated for:
• the acquisition of computing equipment necessary for research work,
• regular travel between participating laboratories,
• and support for the researcher's participation in international workshops and conferences to present their work.

Constraints and risks

As a CNRS contractual researcher abroad, the position involves specific administrative requirements: legal status with Spanish authorities, health insurance, social security, taxation, etc.

The researcher will work on both FSLAC sites: the La Laguna office and the THEMIS telescope building, located at the Observatorio del Teide (OT) at 2,357 m altitude. Although THEMIS lies below the legal threshold for high-altitude work (2,500 m), the elevation may pose medical contraindications for some candidates. Moreover, the OT site is relatively isolated, with no public transport access; a valid driving license is therefore required.

As part of the INSU national observation service “THEMIS,” the researcher, as a member of the THEMIS team, will be expected to serve as telescope operator during observing campaigns, assisting visiting observers. This may involve non-standard working hours and days, depending on observing plans.

Finally, the research activities will include international travel for scientific collaborations, conferences, and workshops.