M/F Postdoctoral Researcher in High Energy-Density Plasma Physics (primary focus: experiments; computation and theory also welcome)

Job Description

Missions

Controlled nuclear fusion, inspired by the fusion processes that power stars, offers the prospect of a clean and virtually inexhaustible energy source on Earth. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) attracted global attention by achieving scientific fusion ignition of a laser-driven capsule with nuclear fuel on December 5, 2022, with a fusion yield of 3.15 MJ from 2.05 MJ of input laser energy (target gain ~1.5). Although this is a critical milestone, target gains >100 are expected to be required to harness Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) for power generation. Magnetized implosions can achieve higher fusion gains than conventional Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) by enhancing alpha particle confinement and suppressing electron thermal conduction losses perpendicular to the magnetic field. Moreover, even in conventional, nominally non magnetized ICF implosions, drive induced asymmetries spontaneously generate magnetic fields that are further amplified during compression and play a critical role in stagnation phase dynamics, directly impacting fusion target performance. On the other hand, fast particle heating could trigger ignition in the compressed fuel independently of the compression phase, potentially enabling higher energy gains than conventional ICF. Finally, magnetic fields can simultaneously improve confinement in the fusion core and guide fast particles toward it, creating a strong synergy between magnetization and fast particle heating [D. Kawahito, M. Bailly-Grandvaux et al., Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2021].

Activity

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the design, execution, and data analysis of the next series of experiments:
• At OMEGA and European facilities (such as LULI 2000, PHELIX, and others) to advance our understanding of magnetic field effects in implosion physics, laser plasma instabilities, and heat transport. The project includes dedicated funding to acquire new equipment to generate (coils) and diagnose (spectroscopy and other diagnostics) magnetized HED plasmas at intermediate scale laser user facilities.
• At OMEGA EP and European facilities (such as ELI Beamlines, Eu XFEL, Apollon, and others) to increase the energy flux of laser driven particle sources for fast ignition of plasmas, by tailoring the laser pulse (e.g. orbital angular momentum), the interaction (micro structured targets, such as [M. Bailly-Grandvaux et al. PRE 2020]), or the transport (cone focusing, log-pile targets, etc.). New partnerships will be established with target fabrication laboratories to produce novel 3D printed targets.
The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with one PhD student at CELIA and one postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego (USA). They will also regularly interact with other PhD students and postdocs supervised by Prof. João Santos, who collaborates on many of the topics described above.
In addition to the core experimental work, simulations and theory form a significant part of the team's activity, and the postdoctoral researcher can contribute to:
• FLASH 2D/3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations, including extended MHD effects such as the Nernst term, carried out in collaboration with teams at Imperial College London and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
• LPSE (Laser Plasma Simulation Environment) kinetic simulations of laser plasma instabilities, electromagnetic wave propagation, and cross beam energy transfer, particularly in the presence of background magnetic fields, performed in collaboration with the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE, Rochester, USA).

Your Profil

Skills

Applicants should hold a PhD in physics (or be close to completion). A strong background in plasma physics and relevant experimental experience are highly desirable.

Your Work Environment

CELIA is at the forefront of this research, co coordinating international (EUROFusion, NLUF, LBS, NIF Discovery Science, Association Laser Plasma) and French (ANR) projects on laser driven HED plasma studies under strong magnetic fields and fast particle heating of dense plasmas. For example, we are conducting large scale magnetized implosion experiments on OMEGA [M. Bailly-Grandvaux et al., PRR 2024] and characterizing fast proton heating on OMEGA EP [M. Bailly-Grandvaux et al., Comm. Phys. 2025].

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

Between 3041€ and 4216€ gross per month, depending on experience.

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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