Call for Expression of Interest for PhD in Cosmology at IFCA

The Observational Cosmology and Instrumentation group at the Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA) in Santander, Spain, welcomes expressions of interest (EoI) from excellent and highly motivated students interested in pursuing a PhD in observational cosmology and astrophysics. The positions will be fully funded during 4 years, with additional support for travel to international conferences, workshops, collaborative meetings, and research stays.

The Observational Cosmology and Instrumentation group offers the following 3 fully-funded research projects (candidates can express their interest in all or any of them):

- Uniting Radio Signals and Foregrounds for Cosmology and Dark Matter Searches (CosmoRadio), supervised by Belén Barreiro and Bradley Kavanagh. The project will focus on using the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) to search for primordial gravitational waves from inflation as well as New Physics in the form of axion-like particles. A key aspect will be the development and application of new techniques to separate these faint signals from much brighter radio foregrounds.

- GRavitational lensing Across scales to probe dark matter and the Cosmic Expansion (GRACE), supervised by Ana Acebron and José María Diego. The successful applicant will develop expertise in strong-gravitational-lensing modelling of galaxy clusters containing multiple images of background transient sources, with the goal of measuring the values of the Hubble constant and other cosmological parameters. The project will make extensive use of HST, JWST, VLT, and Euclid observations and will provide opportunities to collaborate with researchers in international collaborations.

- Diffuse tracers of the cosmic web: Line-intensity mapping and cosmic microwave background secondary anisotropies (DiffWeb), supervised by Mathieu Remazeilles and José Luis Bernal. This project focuses on the extraction and study of faint diffuse tracers of the large-scale structure, including line-intensity mapping and CMB secondary anisotropies, to probe astrophysics, cosmology, and new physics. A major challenge is that these signals are obscured by much brighter foreground emissions. The project's main goal is to develop and apply component-separation and foreground-characterization techniques, enabling robust measurements of diffuse tracers of the cosmic web.

Submission of EoI will be done through a form following the link in "more information" (also: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RKxECLC1yHAOEchJloDCO2-4j1HiJ8_dioATuyLBLV8). Candidates are also strongly encouraged to contact the associated supervisors for each project in addition to the submission of the EoI.

Candidates should have a Master Degree in Physics or Astronomy (or equivalent 300 credits of undergraduate studies) by the time of start of the contract. Candidates should accompany the EoI with a CV, a transcript including full list of University Grades, and arrange for two letters of reference (the email of two referees should be provided). There is no official deadline for the submission of EoIs, but the official call for these positions is expected to open in late September. Therefore, EoIs should be submitted before September 10 for full consideration.

Santander is a medium-size city in the north coast of Spain, featuring an impressive natural surrounding perfect for sea and mountain activities. Full health insurance is included for the researchers and their dependents through the Spanish public health system.

IFCA is a large physics research Institute, working across a broad range of areas in particle physics, astrophysics, cosmology, computation, and instrumentation. In particular, the cosmology group counts with approximately 13 faculty, 3 postdoctoral researchers, and 6 PhD students, with expertise in a broad range of areas in the field, such as cosmic microwave survey science, large-scale structure, gravitational lensing, and dark matter phenomenology.

IFCA is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace. We welcome expressions of interest from any qualified candidate, and especially encourage applications from women and under-represented backgrounds in scientific research.