M/F Resarch position : A wideband radio search for nearby star-planets systems and ultracool dwarfs

Job Description

Missions

The applicant will analyze a set of proprietary wideband low frequency radio observations acquired by our team with a variety of ground-based giant radiotelescopes (namely FAST, NenuFAR, the NRT and the GMRT) to track radio bursts from a sample of nearby Star-Planets systems and UltraCool Dwarfs (UCDs) already detected at radio wavelengths. The goal is to redetect circularly polarized signal reminiscent of Cyclotron Maser-driven auroral radio emissions over an extended spectral range, from 10 MHz to ~1GHz, to identify the driver of the emission (e.g. star and/or exoplanet) and to physically characterize the host magnetosphere.

Activity

The radio data obtained in 2025 during a roughly 30-hour observation campaign conducted using various radio telescopes (NRT, NenuFAR, FAST, GMRT) to observe four star-planet systems and ultra-cold dwarfs consist of large volumes of time-frequency data (1 hour of FAST data = 20 TB of data). Analyzing this data requires an expert in large-scale data analysis, multi-instrument approaches, and cross-calibration of data in terms of flux and circular polarization.

Your Profil

Skills

Skills in beamforming (time-frequency) radio data analysis, knowledge in innovative processing techniques, experience in auroral radio emissions.

Your Work Environment

The search for exoplanets and stars using radio observations is a major focus of this rapidly evolving field. After several decades of theoretical predictions and observations using the world's largest radio telescopes, the first detections are now being made, enabling the initial characterization of the magnetic environments of these objects. The French research community in general, and our team in particular, is well-positioned in this context, thanks to the giant radio telescopes at Nançay (NRT and NenuFAR) that we operate and the PI observations we obtain on the largest international instruments (FAST in China and GMRT in India). To analyze the observational data painstakingly collected by our team in 2025, the successful candidate will work full-time at the LAM, collaborating (and making scheduled visits) with experts from LIRA and LPC2E.

Constraints and risks

Among the data to be analyzed, those acquired with FAST are about to be publicly released, hence the emergency to start as soon as possible. Else, the usual risk, especially here for tracking transient emissions, is a non-detection, in which case time will be devoted to cross-calibrate (in flux and polarization) the radiotelescopes with overlapping spectral ranges and to derive upper limits.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

€3,131.32 to €4,806.76 gross/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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