PhD students in astrophysics

PhD students in astrophysics, with focus on stellar chemical compositions and Galactic evolution

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is one of the largest departments at Uppsala University. It comprises close to 400 employees, including around 125 PhD students. The department conducts world class research and education within both theoretical and experimental physics and is engaged in extensive cooperation with external partners. The research is performed at 10 research divisions, and touches upon everything from the incomprehensibly small to the large within e.g. energy supply, climate development, new materials, and the Universe. This whole spectrum of research is also mirrored in the courses and educational programmes offered by the department. Around 2500 students take the department’s courses at basic and advanced level each year. Read more at http://www.physics.uu.se/.

At the Division of Astronomy and Space Physics, research is conducted on stellar physics, planetary systems, galaxies and cosmology, atomic astrophysics, and astronomical instrumentation. The division participates in a number of international scientific collaborations around telescopes and satellites. We are looking for up to three PhD students in astrophysics, with focus on Galactic archaeology, galaxy evolution, and stellar spectroscopy including accreted stellar populations, stellar ages, chemical evolution and the first stars. One PhD student will primarily work with Dr. Diane Feuillet who is funded by the Swedish Research Council, and the others will primarily work with Dr. Thomas Nordlander who is funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. The main supervisor for the doctoral students will define their research tasks.

Duties
The successful candidate supervised by Dr. Feuillet will work on identifying and characterizing stellar populations in the Milky Way using stellar kinematics, elemental abundances and stellar ages, with a focus on accreted stars in the halo and disk. The project will use observational data from existing large surveys such as Gaia, APOGEE, and GALAH, as well as the upcoming 4MOST and WEAVE surveys, and include possibilities to develop individual observational programs and models of galactic chemical evolution.

The successful candidate(s) supervised by Dr. Nordlander will work towards understanding the early evolution of the Milky Way and the properties of the first stars, through spectroscopic analyses of metal-poor stars, stellar population analyses, and/or characterizing ancient supernovae using chemical abundance data. The project will use a combination of advanced theoretical simulations of stellar atmospheres and new or existing data from e.g. Gaia, VLT, 4MOST, and GALAH.

The doctoral student position is a 4-year appointment, and the candidate will primarily devote the time to their own research studies. Extension, up to a maximum total employment of five years, is possible by including department duties at a level of at most 20%, typically teaching. The position is fully financed and the salary is in accordance with local guidelines at Uppsala University.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in astronomy, physics or a related discipline,
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, including at least 120 credits in physics or astronomy,
• have completed at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits (1 year full time study corresponds to 60 credits), or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

We are looking for candidates with:

• a strong interest to pursue research in stellar and/or galactic astrophysics,
• good communication skills as well as good oral and written proficiency in English,
• excellent study results,
• a high level of creativity and thoroughness,
• a structured approach to problem-solving,
• and an ability to work both independently and in a team.

Additional qualifications
Previous experience of research and/or study in astronomy, experience with astronomical spectroscopy, study results, and programming or data analysis skills will be considered a merit. The quality of scholarly writing (project reports, theses, publications) will be given significant weight. Interviews and aptitude tests may be conducted as part of the selection procedure.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

About the application
The application must include a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) in which you briefly explain why you are applying for this position and summarize any previous research experience; a curriculum vitae (CV) including contact information for two independent reference persons (email and telephone number); degree certificate and register extract with grades (translated into English or Swedish); examples of your scholarly writing, preferably your master thesis (or draft thereof), publications and other relevant documents. Personal circumstances that may be relevant to the assessment, e.g. parental leave, should be mentioned in the applicant's CV. The application should be written in English. Additional questions in the application form will be used to assess qualifications.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 2025-09-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Dr. Diane Feuillet, +46 18 471 3096, diane.feuillet@physics.uu.se or Dr. Thomas Nordlander, +46 18 471 5983, thomas.nordlander@physics.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 4 April 2025, UFV-PA 2025/349.

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