Missions

The NESTAR (“Noyaux Exotiques Structure et Astrophysique par Réactions”) team at Laboratoire de Physique des Deux Infinis Irène Joliot-Curie (IJCLab) at Orsay, France is inviting applications for a position of postdoctoral researcher. Our activities are focused on the measurement of direct nuclear reactions induced by radioactive beams (RIB) with main focus on RIB produced at GANIL by the ISOL (SPIRAL facility) or in-flight (LISE spectrometer) methods and at RIKEN.
We have designed and constructed a state-of-the-art Silicon strip array (MUGAST) which is currently installed at GANIL on the LISE beamline and used in conjunction with the EXOGAM Germanium gamma-ray array. The upcoming 2025-2026 campaigns will include experiments on few-body systems, spin-orbit splitting and reactions of astrophysical interest, two of them being lead by our group.
MUGAST is a first step towards the next generation GRIT array (see grit.in2p3.fr). The Phase0 of GRIT will be coupled with AGATA and VAMOS at GANIL in 2029. The MUGAST and GRIT array are part of an international collaboration lead by France and Italy.
The postdoctoral fellowship aims at running and analysing data from the MUGAST campaign of 2025-2026 and preparing the Phase 0 of GRIT.

Activités

The successful candidate will be stationed at Orsay with frequent travel to GANIL (Caen, France) for setting up and participating in experiments involving the MUGAST array. He/she will take on a responsible role in the operation of the array and associated detectors. The candidate will be expected to analyze with the NPTool package and interpret data from the campaigns, in particular from an experiment devoted to the search for the 4H isobaric analog state of the tetra-neutron system. It is expected that the results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals and presented in conferences.
He/she will also have the opportunity to participate in the elaboration of the Phase 0 of GRIT Si array with tests of electronics and detectors and integration into AGATA.

Compétences

Eligible candidates must have a PhD in experimental nuclear physics obtained since less than three years or expect to defend their PhD before the start of the appointment. The position requires the capacity of independent work in both hardware and software and good teamwork skills. The candidate will gain expertise in the use of semiconductor detectors (Si-strip and Ge), and gaseous detectors (Multi-wire proportional and ionization chambers). Prior experience with such systems and with radioactive beam experiments will be appreciated. The work requires programming knowledge in C++ and experience with the ROOT analysis framework. This is a fixed term two-year appointment starting on June 1st 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Contexte de travail

The Irène Joliot-Curie Physics Laboratory of 2 Infinities (IJCLab) is a UMR under the supervision of the CNRS (IN2P3), the University of Paris-Saclay and the University of Paris. It is located on the campus of the University of Paris -Saclay in Orsay, which lies 20 km south of Paris and is easily accessible by RER in 35 minutes.
IJCLab was founded in 2020 from the merger of five laboratories (CSNSM, IMNC, IPN, LAL, LPT). The staff is composed of nearly 560 permanent personnel and approximately 200 non-permanent personnel 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 very significant technical capacities (around 280 engineers and technicians) in all the major fields required to design, develop / implement the experimental devices necessary for its scientific activity.
The NESTAR team includes 11 physicists (permanent researchers, post-docs and doctoral students) studying nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics using reactions.

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.

Contraintes et risques

Frequent travel to GANIL (Caen).
Work under radiation