Missions

The observations acquired during the cruise phase of the BepiColombo mission offer a promising glimpse of future discoveries expected after the probe's insertion into orbit, and herald major advances in our understanding of planetary magnetospheres. The recruited postdoctoral researcher will be in charge of the detailed analysis of the Mercury flybys (MSB4) carried out by the MSA (Mass Spectrum Analyzer) instrument of the MPPE (Mercury Plasma Particle Experiment) consortium, as well as performing numerical simulations to better understand the observations during the cruise phase. This two-year work will directly contribute to the scientific preparation of the orbital phase, scheduled to start in November 2026.
Le ou la chercheur postdoctoral recruté sera en charge de l'analyse détaillée des survols de Mercure (MSB4) réalisés par l'instrument MSA (Mass Spectrum Analyzer) du consortium MPPE (Mercury Plasma Particle Experiment) ainsi que d'effectuer des simulations numériques afin de mieux comprendre les observations pendant la phase de croisière.
Ce travail, d'une durée de deux ans, contribuera directement à la préparation scientifique de la phase orbitale, prévue à partir de novembre 2026.

Activities

1. Data Acquisition, Processing and Validation
• Calibration and validation of raw MSA/MPPE data for the MSB4 flyby.
• Level 1 (L1) data calculation: conversion of MSA count rates into physical units (energy flux, etc.).
• Level 2 (L2) data calculation: determination of ion density, velocity and temperature from distribution functions. The routines developed and validated during the postdoctoral fellowship will be used during the nominal mission after orbital insertion.
• Development of an innovative method for background noise suppression in Time-of-Flight observations.

2. Scientific Data Analysis
• Integration and correlation of MSA observations with magnetic field (MGF instrument) and ion/electron measurements (MIA, MEA), as well as PICAM/MPO data, to obtain a complete contextual view.
• Analysis of MSA energy-time spectrograms and cleaned Time-of-Flight data to determine the ionic composition during each flyby, particularly in the regions close to Mercury's cusps (study of heavy ions such as Na⁺, K⁺, Ca⁺, Fe⁺).

Skills

KNOWLEDGE
Doctorate in plasma physics, space physics, planetology, or equivalent discipline.
• Strong skills in space experimental data analysis and signal processing.

EXPERTISE
• Proficiency in a scientific programming language (Python or equivalent).
• Knowledge of in situ measuring instruments (mass analyzers, magnetometers, particle detectors).

SKILLS
• Scientific and technical rigor.
• Organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Aptitude for teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Autonomy in managing technical tasks.

Work Context

The LPP is a joint research unit of the CNRS, the Ecole Polytechnique and Sorbonne University, composed of 120 people including approximately 60 permanent staff, spread over 2 sites, the Ecole Polytechnique campus in Palaiseau and the Sorbonne University campus in Paris-Jussieu. The LPP is organized in the form of 3 thematic research axes: space plasmas, cold plasmas, and fusion plasmas. The space plasmas axis has 29 permanent researchers and engineers, it is composed of a scientific team and two technical teams, respectively for the "Wave" instrumentation and for the "Particle" instrumentation.
The recruited postdoc will be based on the Palaiseau site.

Constraints and risks

NS