PhD fellowship in Asymptotically Safe Quantum Gravity

PhD Project “Unraveling the Asymptotic Safety Landscape”

Niels Bohr Institute
Faculty of SCIENCE
University of Copenhagen

The Theoretical High Energy Group at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen and the Niels Bohr International Academy invite applications for a three-year postdoctoral position, starting in the Fall of 2024. The successful candidate will be part of the quantum gravity group led by Alessia Platania. The position will be funded by the Villum Young Investigator grant associated with the project “Non-perturbative strings, asymptotic safety, and the swampland”.

Start date is (expected to be) 1 November 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project
The PhD project “Unraveling the Asymptotic Safety Landscape” is part of this project. The focus is investigating the “landscape” of effective field theories stemming from Asymptotically Safe Gravity and its interface with theoretical constraints, swampland conjectures, and observational bounds.

Who are we looking for?
We are looking for extremely motivated candidates with a very strong background across different areas of theoretical physics. The ideal candidate should have taken university courses on (at least) astrophysics, cosmology, general relativity, quantum field theory, fundamental interactions, and theories of gravitation with the highest or close to highest possible grades. They should obtain a master’s degree in physics by the start of the position and their master’s thesis should involve high-quality theoretical research in one of the following areas: asymptotically safe gravity, quantum black holes, theoretical cosmology. Research potential and innovative ideas developed by the candidate in their master’s thesis should be apparent from their research statement. Their strong motivation should be detailed in a cover letter.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?
The quantum gravity group led by Alessia Platania is part of the High Energy Theory division. We offer a dynamical and internationally competitive enviroment, with seminars, journal clubs, and other activities happening every week. The group has interests in quantum gravity, black hole physics, cosmology, asymptotically safe gravity, and string theory. The group is a part of the Physics Department (Niels Bohr Institute), Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. We are located in Copenhagen.

We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment.

Supervisor is Assistant Professor Alessia Platania, Department: Niels Bohr Institute and Niels Bohr International Academy, E-mail: [email protected], Direct Phone: +39-3477872438
Principal supervisor is Associate Professor Emil Bjerrum-Bohr.



The PhD programme
A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme

Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project (theoretical physics) by the start date of the project. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

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Application and Assessment Procedure

Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

1. Cover letter, providing strong motivation to join Alessia Platania’s group and indicating your suitability for the position
2. Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills
3. Research statement describing your master thesis’s research and future projects
4. Transcripts of courses taken during your bachelor’s and master’s degrees, including the grades obtained in individual exams
5. Original diplomas for Master of Science and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.

Application deadline:

The deadline for applications is 8 August 2024, 23:59 GMT +2

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.



Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.