M/F PhD Student in Planetary Science

Job Description

Thesis Subject

Jupiter's Polar Chemistry in the Context of ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) Mission :

The Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille is offering a fully funded PhD position in planetary science focused on the chemistry of Jupiter's polar atmosphere. The project is supervised by Vincent Hue and Bilal Benmahi, both actively involved in NASA's Juno mission and ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission.
The main objective of the PhD project is to study the impact of auroral particle precipitation on Jupiter's atmospheric composition. The work will involve modeling the abundances of key chemical species in Jupiter's polar regions using computer simulations. The core of the project consists of coupling a photochemical model (developed and used in numerous planetary applications) with an electron transport model (TransPlanet, also widely used), in order to quantify how auroral electrons modify Jupiter's atmospheric chemistry. The initial focus will be on hydrocarbons (C2H2, C2H4, C2H6) and will later be extended to other observed hydrocarbons.
The successful candidate will interpret available observations from the Juno mission together with ground-based and space-based data, including observations from IRTF and JWST (both recently published and newly acquired as part of this project).
This PhD project is directly connected to the scientific preparation of the JUICE mission. The candidate will be integrated into the JUICE science team and will contribute both to the mission's preparation phase and to its scientific exploitation following JUICE's arrival at Jupiter in 2031.
The project is part of the JAFAR research program, involving close collaborations with several French laboratories and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Your Work Environment

This PhD project is part of a collaborative project funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), involving LAM and PIIM in Marseille, LAB in Bordeaux, LATMOS and LIRA in Paris, as well as JPL in Pasadena, California. The PhD will be carried out over three years within the Planetary Systems Group (GSP) at the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (UMR7326).
The PhD supervisor, Vincent Hue, is a professor at Aix-Marseille Université (CPJ) and a specialist in the atmospheric photochemistry of giant planets and magnetosphere–atmosphere interactions. His research mainly focuses on the atmospheres of the giant planets of the Solar System. He is involved in the Juno and Europa Clipper (NASA) missions, as well as JUICE (ESA), serving as co-investigator on the UVS and MAJIS instruments (JUICE). He is also co-lead of the “Jupiter Atmosphere” Working Group for the JUICE mission.
The research environment for this PhD includes:
- An active and inspiring research environment, a dynamic doctoral community, and numerous opportunities to connect with national and international peers both socially and professionally;
- A wide range of interdisciplinary training opportunities and activities, such as leadership training, workshops, seminars, research stays, and summer schools.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

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

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