PhD Position about Formation of Galactic Bulges and Black Hole–Galaxy Co-Evolution in Cosmological Simulations

Job position: The Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) and the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC) invite applications for a 4-year PhD position focused on galaxy formation and evolution. The selected candidate will be jointly supervised by Silvia Bonoli (DIPC) and David Izquierdo-Villalba (ICE). The PhD student will spend about half of the time at DIPC in San Sebastián and the other half at ICE-CSIC in the Barcelona area, ensuring deep scientific engagement within two complementary and internationally recognised centres of excellence. Both institutes provide a dynamic research environment in galaxy formation and cosmology. Particularly relevant for this project are the AGN and Galaxy Evolution group led by Mar Mezcua at ICE and the Cosmology group led by Raul Angulo at DIPC. The selected candidate will benefit from access to state-of-the-art high-performance computing facilities, active international collaborations, and dedicated support for participation in conferences and workshops.

Goal: Understanding how galaxies develop bulges and how they co-evolve with their central massive black holes remains one of the central challenges of modern astrophysics. This PhD project aims to explore this by bridging two of the most powerful theoretical approaches in galaxy formation: hydrodynamical cosmological simulations and semi-analytical modelling. In particular, the successful candidate will investigate the formation and morphological evolution of galaxies and their central massive black holes using state-of-the-art hydrodynamical cosmological simulations and semi-analytical models.

Requirements: Applicants should hold (or expect to obtain before the start date) a Master’s degree in Physics, Astrophysics, or a closely related field. A background in one or more of the following areas is desirable: (a) cosmology; (b) galaxy formation and evolution; (c) computational astrophysics; (d) analysis of numerical simulations and large datasets. Candidates should demonstrate solid programming skills (e.g., Python, C/C++, or similar languages) and experience with scientific data analysis. Prior experience with cosmological simulations or semi-analytical models will be positively considered, but is not mandatory. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are required.

How to apply: Interested candidates should send the following documents to silvia.bonoli@dipc.org and dizquierdo@ice.csic.es:

- A CV (including academic record and programming experience)
- A brief statement describing previous research experience, current research interests, and motivation for pursuing this PhD position (max. 2 pages)
- Two reference letters to be sent to the same email addresses. 

Application deadline: 20 March 2026  - However, we will accept applications until the position has been filled

Inquiries can be addressed to Silvia Bonoli (silvia.bonoli@dipc.org) and David Izquierdo-Villalba at (dizquierdo@ice.csic.es)