Description of the thesis topic

Scientific context:
Viscoelastic fluids are ubiquitous. Examples include glassy liquids or colloidal dispersions. A key property of these fluids are long-lasting dynamic memory effects correlating the flow at a given time to the history of prior motion. Theoretically, these memory effects are described by viscoelastic memory functions (VMFs) which determine the response of the fluid to deformation on various length and time scales. It is a fundamental unsolved problem of condensed matter physics to develop accurate approximation for the VMFs. Progress in developing such approximations has stagnated in the past, since theory shows that the time evolution of the VMFs is not generated by the classical Newtonian dynamics, but by an intricate "projected'' dynamics. The projected dynamics cannot be reproduced by standard molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, thereby disabling direct calculation of the exact VMFs to guide the development of approximations.

Here we suggest to close this gap by a new, constrained MD (CMD) method that mimics the projected dynamics directly in the simulation. Through this doctoral thesis, we seek to create the CMD method, to make it publicly available by implementation in the opensource LAMMPS code for high-performance computing, and to apply CMD to explore the spatio-temporal dependence of the VMFs for models of glassy liquids [1].

[1] L. Klochko, J. Baschnagel, J. P. Wittmer, H. Meyer, O. Benzerara, A. N. Semenov, "Theory of length-scale dependent relaxation moduli and stress fluctuations in glass-forming and viscoelastic liquids", J. Chem. Phys. 156, 164505 (2022).

Job profile:
We are looking for a physicist or a theoretical chemist having a good knowledge of statistical physics, experience in programming (e.g., python, C++, etc.), and familiarity with LINUX. The successful candidate must have a strong interest in both theory and numerical work. Numerical work involves code development (e.g., implementing CMD in the C++ LAMMPS code, programming of data analysis tools, etc.), carrying out large-scale MD simulations, and data curation. Development of CMD and analysis of the simulation data critically hinge on the synergy provided by applying the underlying theory that also requires further extension. The positions can be filled at any time, but no later than Dec 1, 2025.

Work Context

A doctoral thesis, funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), is available in the Theory and Simulation of Polymers (TSP) group at the Institut Charles Sadron (ICS) in Strasbourg, France. The ICS is a research institute of the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) and associated with the University of Strasbourg (Unistra). The research activities of the ICS are concerned with the science of macromolecules and self-assembled soft matter systems at the interface between chemistry, physics and engineering. The ICS hosts seven research groups, one of which is the TSP group. All permanent members of the TSP group are involved, at various levels, in the research associated with the PhD thesis proposed. The PhD student will have a doctoral contract and be enrolled in the Doctoral College of Physics and Chemistry-Physics of the Unistra, providing a structured doctoral training parallel to the doctoral thesis. The doctoral contract is for three years with a monthly net salary of (currently) 1739 euros.

The position is located in a sector under the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore requires, in accordance with the regulations, that your arrival is authorized by the competent authority of the MESR.