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Holders of a doctorate or a PhD or equivalent degree or applicants who have gained scientific qualifications or carried out scientific work deemed to be of an equivalent level.There is no restriction on the age or nationality of applicants. All CNRS positions are accessible to people with disabilities, with special arrangements for tests made necessary by the nature of the disability

Institution Strategy

Understanding the sources of very high-energy radiation in the Universe is a priority for CNRS. The mechanisms of particle acceleration to ultra-relativistic energies, producing radiation that is inaccessible on Earth, remain poorly understood, as do the environments in which they occur. These radiations are often associated with extreme conditions of gravity and/or intense magnetic fields, such as those observed around supermassive black holes (AGN), pulsars, or supernova explosions.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), currently under construction, will be the largest observatory dedicated to the study of these gamma radiations, covering an energy range from 10 GeV to 100 TeV. With sites in Spain (La Palma) and Chile (Paranal), along with advanced computing infrastructure, it will enable the exploration of fundamental processes and the identification of the sources of these radiations.

CNRS plays a major role in the project. The CPPM, IRAP, LLR, and LUX laboratories contribute to the development of telescopes (SST and MST), cameras (NectarCAM), and scientific infrastructure. Researchers are also involved in the development of Key Scientific Projects (KSP), which will guide the work of the CTAO during its initial years of operation.

With the first telescope installed at the northern site and ongoing work in the south, the CTAO is entering its commissioning phase, scheduled for 2026. French researchers will be active in this critical phase until the end of construction in 2029. The proposed junior professor chair fits into this dynamic, reinforcing CNRS efforts and supporting the operation of the observatory, which will extend over 30 years.

Host Lab Strategy

The four host laboratories have a long history and widely recognized expertise in the field of gamma astronomy and have invested heavily in the development of the CTAO by providing essential engineering, technical, administrative, and scientific support to the project during the construction phase. LUX is a major contributor to the development of the SSTs, responsible for the procurement of 12 SSTs, and has dedicated considerable resources to the development of the data access and archiving architecture and scientific tools for CTAO. CPPM, IRAP, and LLR are major contributors to the NectarCAM project, respectively responsible for the design and procurement of the calibration systems, the focal plane detector system, and the mechanics for the 9 NectarCAMs. The four laboratories are fully committed to the commissioning and long-term operation of the CTAO.

International Strategy

The CTAO consortium brings together 1,500 members from 150 institutions across 25 countries. France is one of the founding members of this consortium. Through its two sites in the Canary Islands and Chile, CTAO will be the most sensitive gamma observatory ever built. It will cover a wide range of research themes in astrophysics and cosmology, with a global community of hundreds of researchers preparing for the start of the scientific operation of the observatory. The project thus represents a rich pool of researchers who fall within the core target of the junior professor chair (CPJ) initiative.

This recruitment aims to significantly enhance France's participation in the operation of the CTA project at a time when understanding the most energetic phenomena in the Universe will be possible through gamma astronomy observations, combined with multi-wavelength and multi-messenger data from these events.

National Directory of Research Structures (RNSR) of the host laboratory

Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet (LLR) - 199719337L
Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille (CPPM) - 201220247K
Laboratoire d’étude de l’Univers et des phénomènes eXtrêmes (LUX) - 202524635Y
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP) - 201119477C

Summary of the scientific project

The selected individual will lead a research program that leverages the unique opportunities of the CTAO to study the non-thermal Universe, aligned with the Key Science Projects (KSP) described in "Science With CTA" (https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.07997). They will participate in the commissioning, validation, and calibration of the telescopes in the laboratory, as well as their operation during the initial science phase of the CTAO. They may also contribute to the development and commissioning of the associated computing infrastructures. Finally, they will play a key role within the CTA-France community, strengthening collaboration among laboratories to consolidate French leadership in the KSP of the CTAO.

Summary of the teaching project

In agreement with the partner Grand Establishment or the Observatory of the Sciences of the Universe that will host the chair, the teaching service will be fully converted into a national observation service ANO2 certified by CNRS-INSU. This service will count as a complete teaching release. At the end of the contractual period, the candidate will be tenured in a position as Research Director at CNRS. In the case of LLR, teaching will be conducted as a lecturer within the École Polytechnique.

Financial Environment

• Total (included package ANR) : 200 k€
• Total financement : k€

Scientific dissemination

The dissemination of the results will be done through world-class scientific productions: publications, patents, software... In addition, the results will be communicated to various targets such as scientific communities, media, decision makers, general public, schools, etc., with an adapted calendar. Specific tools may be developed such as websites, newsletters, meetings, international symposia, summer schools and conferences.

Open Science

The CNRS is developing a strong policy in favor of open science. Open science consists of making research results "as accessible as possible and closed as necessary". As such, the CNRS aims to make 100% of the texts of publications resulting from the work of its laboratories accessible , in particular through deposit in HAL. The data produced must also be made available and reusable, except for specific restrictions. In addition, the guiding principles of individual evaluation have been revised in accordance with the DORA declaration, to be more qualitative and to take into account all facets of the researcher's profession.

Science and society

The relationship between science and society is now recognized as a full dimension of scientific activity. The project will develop this dimension in synergy with all the partners. The resulting research work will contribute to informing public decision-making. Participatory science initiatives may be initiated with actors from the project’s socio-economic and cultural eco-system.

Indicators

The activity will be evaluated in particular on the basis of scientific production (publications, software, patents, etc.), on institutional and private partnerships formalized by contracts, on international presence, on the promotion of work to multidisciplinary scientific communities, on innovation and its transfer to society and on scientific dissemination to non-specialist audiences.

Methods of organization of the interviews

Only the candidates selected on file by the selection committee will be invited to the auditions.