Uppsala University, Department of Physics and Astronomy

The research conducted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy encompasses a wide range of physics topics, distributed over ten divisions. The department is located in the Ångström laboratory and employs nearly 400 people, 125 of whom are doctoral students. It offers a broad physics curriculum to undergraduate and graduate students, participation in nationally and internationally leading projects for researchers, and opportunities for partnership with industry and various outreach activities.

Project description: The X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) is a coherent and tunable light source that offers a spatial resolution at the ångström scale and a temporal resolution at the femto- and subfemtosecond scales. It delivers the highest peak brilliance amongst laboratory X-ray sources today, outperforming even the synchrotron by five to ten orders of magnitude. The X-ray FEL is a revolutionary instrument that enables e.g. characterization of the structure of biomolecules with sub-ångström resolution paving the way to control how they function.
The increasing number of scientific applications and the growing demand for beam time motivate the development of new FEL facilities. However, the X-ray FEL facilities in operation today are generally very long. An ongoing quest in FEL research and development, therefore, is to make the FEL much more compact and affordable for universities.
The prime objective of the project, the successful applicant will work on, is to design a tabletop, high repetition rate FEL using MeV-scale electron bunches and an optical undulator. The successful applicant will study different configurations of the tabletop FEL with the aim of devising a scheme realizable in practice with already existing or coming to the scene accelerator and laser technologies.
The successful applicant will work in a team of dedicated scientists having experience in FEL physics, beam dynamics, superconducting RF engineering and FEL experiments. The FREIA team is currently working on the design of photon beamlines for the national project “Soft X-ray Laser at MAX IV,” and also is in charge of several tasks in the EU project “CompactLight.”

Description of work: 

• Critically compare already proposed schemes for compact FELs
• Identify one or two schemes that can realistically be implemented in practice on the timescale of a few years
• Perform conceptual design of all essential components of the compact FEL
• Together with other group members, perform start-to-end simulations of the beam dynamics and FEL process

Requirements: To qualify for an employment as a postdoctor you must have a PhD degree or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree in Physics or related field. The PhD degree must have been obtained no more than three years prior to the application deadline. The three year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.

• Deep understanding of wave optics and optical beams in particular
• Solid knowledge of basic laser physics
• Solid knowledge of beam physics
• Experience with multiparticle simulations
• Publications in Physical Review journals or similar level
• The short-listed applicants will be asked to solve a number of test, research-like problems in the field of photon and electron optics. 

Additional qualifications:

• Solid knowledge of FEL principles and Compton light sources
• In-depth experience with simulation codes Genesis, Symplex, GPT and Astra
• Experience with electron and photon beam diagnostic
• Previous experience with the design of Compton sources

• High-quality academic writing skills
• Capable to express yourself in a clear, structured and to the point manner
• Capable of preparing clear and concise summaries of ongoing work
• Capable of keeping the work progress well documented, searchable and understandable by other group members

Uppsala University strives to be an inclusive workplace that promotes equal opportunities and attracts qualified candidates who can contribute to the University’s excellence and diversity. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and from people of all backgrounds.

Salary: Individual salary.

Starting date: 13 January 2020, or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to central collective agreement.

Scope of employment: 100 %

For further information about the position please contact: Vitaliy Goryashko, Vitaliy.goryashko@physics.uu.se

Please submit your application by 2 December 2019, UFV-PA 2019/3452.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
First day of employment 2020-01-13
Salary Fixed salary
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Uppsala
County Uppsala län
Country Sweden
Reference number UFV-PA 2019/3452
Union representative
  • Seko Universitetsklubben, seko@uadm.uu.se
  • ST/TCO, tco@fackorg.uu.se
  • Saco-rådet, saco@uadm.uu.se
Published 21.Oct.2019
Last application date 02.Dec.2019 11:59 PM CET

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