Informations générales
Intitulé de l'offre : PhD position on the contribution to the LISA test campaign and modeling of flight performance (M/F) (H/F)
Référence : UMR7164-KEVVEL-044
Nombre de Postes : 1
Lieu de travail : PARIS 13
Date de publication : mardi 29 juillet 2025
Type de contrat : CDD Doctorant
Durée du contrat : 36 mois
Date de début de la thèse : 1 décembre 2025
Quotité de travail : Complet
Rémunération : 2200 gross monthly
Section(s) CN : 01 - Interactions, particules, noyaux du laboratoire au cosmos
Description du sujet de thèse
LISA is an ESA-led space mission dedicated to the detection of low frequency gravitational waves, scheduled for launch in 2035.
France has taken a leading role in the tests and validation of the performance of the metrological core of the instrument. Within the French collaboration, the APC laboratory is more specifically in charge of providing the so-called Beam Simulator (BSIM), an ultra stable interferometric bench aiming at stimulating and stimulating the free space and fiber interfaces of the LISA optical bench.
The proposed PhD subject covers the final stages of BSIM integration and tests, the preparation of and participation to the test campaign at the CNES and the scientific exploitation of the results. The main final objectives are to perform an in-depth analysis of the test data and use them to build prediction model, as accurate as possible, of the in flight metrological performance. It shall also lead to the definition of measurements that should be performed during the in-orbit commissioning phase to complement the results obtained on ground. This works shall be included in the general validation strategy of the LISA instrument model. This work is therefore included in the general validation strategy of the LISA instrument model.
For these experimental tasks and their interpretation in terms of instrumental performance, the student shall rely on the scientific and technical teams of the LISA group at the APC laboratory (including engineering support in optics, mechanics, electronics, system engineering, data analysis, quality assurance, etc). This work will also be carried out in close collaboration with the other French laboratories, the CNES and the international institutes involved in the development of the LISA instrument.
The various activities of the doctoral student will be:
- Review of the existing BSIM and IDS designs and their associated measurements capabilities and existing performance models
- Contribute to the experimental tuning, characterization and validation of the BSIM optical bench and its sub-systems.
- Study the existing tests procedure designed to validate the IDS in the CNES premises, evaluate their pertinence for in-depth performance modeling and checks
- Propose complementary experiments, build the associated numerical models supporting the (possible) need for specific tests
- Design the analysis pipelines for the most accurate performance estimate.
- Participate to the Engineering Model test campaign at the CNES premises, perform real-time analysis to get a preliminary in-sight of the instrument performance and propose adaptation of the tests procedures if needed.
- Perform an in-depth, off-line, analysis of the tests results and infer, as accurately as possible, their impact on the predicted IDS performance.
- Deduce recommendations for the Qualification Model test campaign and in-flight commissioning phase
Contexte de travail
The LISA project of gravitational waves detection has been selected in January 2024 by the European Space Agency as the third 'Large' mission of the 'Cosmic Vision' program, with a expected launch date in 2035. This mission relies on the capability to measure, using laser interferometry, the distance fluctuations between satellites 2.5 Mkm apart, with a picometer accuracy on seconds to hours timescales.
LISA is the product of an international development effort, France being part of the European collaboration providing the instrument. In this context, the CNES and about fifteen French laboratories are contributing to the validation of the scientific performance of the instrument prior to flight and are currently developing the required high-precision optical metrology benches and measurement systems.
The performance of the metrological 'core' of the LISA instrument (named IDS : Interferometric Detection System) shall be tested and validated in the CNES premises using the IDS Engineering Model (from mid 2027 to end 2028), and, afterwards, the IDS Qualification Model (from mid 2029 to mid 2030).
Contraintes et risques
No particular risks.
Travel within France and abroad is to be expected