Postdoc scholar position (M/F) of Exotic nuclear Systems

Job Description

Missions

We seek a postdoctoral researcher to join the ANR-FAPESP international project FBCUBES (France-Brazil Collaboration on Universal Behavior of Exotic Nuclear Systems) and contribute to one of its core work packages. The position focuses on developing and applying the No-Core Shell Model with Continuum and its extensions to construct high-fidelity microscopic optical potentials, designed for use in few-body reaction formalisms, in particular Faddeev-type calculations targeting systems up to five nucleons.

Activity

In the first stage, the postdoctoral researcher will derive an optical potential from a complete ab initio description and express it in a form that is directly usable in reaction calculations. The candidate will then participate in a systematic assessment of the range of validity and limitations of this approach when moving toward heavier systems and more complex reaction channels.
In a second, more exploratory stage, the candidate will investigate extensions to n-n-c systems, including the impact of three-body forces derived from ab initio calculations. This will enable a more quantitative understanding of how Pauli effects contribute to effective interactions and emergent components in reduced descriptions.

Your Profil

Skills

The candidate must have a PhD degree in physics (atomic, particle, hadronic or nuclear) with a strong focus on theory. The project requires sound knowledge in theoretical physics, computing and High-Performance Computing (HPC), a high level of communication skills, both oral and written (English required, French courses are provided to a successful candidate from abroad) to be able to present at conferences and write scientific articles for publication in refereed journals. We are looking for a research fellow who will be able to become fully involved with the project, eager to learn, with a degree of independence thinking and strong motivation to develop skills in research as well as the required technical skills computing/HPC etc... In addition, the candidate must be able to work in a team.

Your Work Environment

The Irène Joliot-Curie Physics Laboratory of 2 Infinities (IJCLab) is a joint laboratory between a university and a public research institution under the supervision of the CNRS (“nucléaire and particules”), the University of Paris-Saclay and the University of Paris is located on the campus of the University of Paris-Saclay in Orsay.
IJCLab was born in 2020 from the merger of five laboratories (CSNSM, IMNC, IPN, LAL, LPT). The staff is made up of nearly 560 permanent (340 engineers, technicians and administrators and 220 researchers and teacher-researchers) and approximately 200 non-permanent including 120 doctoral students. The research themes of the laboratory are nuclear physics, high energy physics, theoretical physics, astroparticles, astrophysics and cosmology, particle accelerators, energy and the environment and health. IJCLab has significant technical capacities (around 280 IT) in all the major fields required to design, develop/implement the experimental devices necessary for its scientific endeavors, as well as for the design, the development and the operation of scientific instruments.
Our team Strong Interacting Matter in the theory division of IJCLab focuses on nuclear theory and its applications to others fields of physics. Our team, is internationally recognized for its leadership in state-of-the-art theoretical methods in nuclear structure and reactions, nuclear astrophysics and dynamics. Our group specializes in many-body theories (from nuclear density functional to ab initio methods coupled to effective field theory) and related numerical and formal techniques. We are particularly fond of interdisciplinary connections and emerging technologies e.g., ultra-cold gases of bosonic or fermionic atoms, machine learning technologies and quantum computing. At the same time, we work in close connection with IJCLab experimentalists, particularly on the microscopic interpretation and prediction of nuclear physics data.
This postdoctoral project has been funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) under the AAPG 2025 scheme for a 24-month period, with an expected start in November 2026. The international project brings together researchers in France and Brazil and is led by Dr. Rimantas Lazauskas and Prof. Tobias Frederico (Principal Investigators). Dr. G. Hupin is a Co-PI and leads the work package associated with this postdoctoral position.
IJCLab bases its recruitment policy on the promotion of equality, diversity, and inclusion. These core values foster the professional development of its staff—key contributors to collective success—as well as the growth of the laboratory itself.

Constraints and risks

Travel is expected within the framework of the FBCUBES collaboration, in particular through annual visits to partner institutions in Brazil: the São Paulo State University (UNESP) and the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) in São José dos Campos. The work plan also includes regular consortium-wide meetings and in-person collaboration sessions held either in France or in Brazil. Subject to available funding, additional visits to international collaborators in North America may also be considered.
Applications must include a detailed CV; a list of peer-review publications as author and co-author; at least two references (senior scientists who may be contacted); a cover letter of one page; a one-page résumé of the PhD project and documents required for the background check (see below).
Researchers at IJCLab are subject to background check. Therefore, the date of employment written above should be understood as provisional (documents: copy of passport, detailed CV, phone number, home postal address, current employing organization and address of the organization).

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

From 3131,32 euros to 3569,85 euros

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

The research professions