Ref0015 / Deadline: September 15, 2011 (preferably)

Cerrado / Closed

Offer Description

CEFCA is recruiting a graduate student in Mathematics/Physics or Engineering willing to conduct a PhD thesis in the field of Cosmology. The PhD fellowship is four years long, one of which must be devoted to the completion of a master/doctorate courses in a spanish university. CEFCA will cover the expenses associated to the master completion. The PhD project will be conducted at CEFCA headquarters in Teruel (Spain).

CEFCA is a new Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology located in Teruel (Spain) which is in charge of the design and construction of the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory (OAJ). The OAJ, particularly designed for carrying out large scale surveys, will consist of two telescopes: JST250, a large-etendue 2.5m telescope with a FoV of 3 deg (diameter), and JAST80, a 80cm telescope with a 2 deg FoV. JAST80 and JST250 are due to be operative by the end of 2011 and mid 2012 respectively. Both telescopes will be equipped with panoramic CCD cameras.

Scientific project description

CEFCA is responsible for the execution of J-PAS, an ambitious galaxy survey covering ~8,000 square degrees from the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ). This survey will detect hundreds of millions of galaxies, whose number and spatial distribution is intimately related to the energetic content of the universe. In particular, the J-PAS galaxy catalog will provide crucial information about Dark Energy, the mysterious energetic component of the universe causing an acceleration in its expansion rate. The PhD student will identify cosmic structures and study their spatial distribution with the purpose of characterizing physical properties of Dark Energy. The PhD student will build tools required for the data analysis, and first apply them on the data from J-PLUS, a precursor of J-PAS that should provide output at the end of 2012. In the final phase the analysis of J-PAS data will be conducted.

Requirements

For further information contact: Carlos Hernández-Monteagudo | chm@cefca.es.