The National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) in Warsaw invites applications for a 4-year PhD scholarship centered around the subject of Properties of low surface brightness galaxies in the LSST era. 

The upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will be the benchmark for the next decade, providing unprecedented depth and quality optical data on millions of galaxies, including low and high surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs, and HSBGs, respectively). This PhD project focuses on the analysis of the physical properties of LSBGs, i.e. galaxies that are very diffuse and fainter than the typical night sky. The studies will start with tests on the data from already existing surveys, which then will be translated and applied to LSST data. The successful PhD candidate will investigate LSBGs with the aim of understanding how they differ from their high surface brightness counterparts.

Our team is an active member of the LSST collaboration with access to early data releases that will be available at the beginning of the year 2027. In the team, we have experts in the field of LSBGs, galaxy morphology, as well as SED fitting. Therefore, this PhD project offers a unique opportunity for the student to gain expertise in all these aspects. The results of this research will provide essential insights into the nature of very faint galaxies and their role in galaxy formation and evolution scenarios.

The scholarship will be funded from the NCN MAESTRO project “Barely Visible: Low Surface Brightness Universe in the LSST era,” led by Prof. Agnieszka Pollo.

Description: 

In the framework of this project, the PhD candidate will perform morphological analysis on these galaxies to estimate their properties such as size, surface brightness, and concentration. Several widely used tools like Galfit, Photutils, Autoprof, and machine learning techniques will be used to compare and evaluate the robustness of different tools for optimal morphological estimation of faint galaxies. 

The student will also carry out a multi-wavelength analysis of these galaxies by compiling ancillary data from the literature (e.g., GALEX, Spitzer, JWST, Herschel). The CIGALE tool will be used to perform Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting techniques to estimate the stellar mass, star-formation rate, and dust attenuation of the galaxies.

Contact: prof. Agnieszka Pollo agnieszka.pollo@ncbj.gov.pl , prof. Katarzyna Małek – katarzyna.malek@ncbj.gov.pl

Requirements:

• MSc degree in physics, astronomy, astrophysics or equivalent (obtained not later than by the end of September 2024)
• A successful candidate is expected to be already skilled in programming and analysis of astrophysical data.

Required documents:

• CV 
• a short summary of research interests up to two pages,
• the transcript of BSc and MSc courses grades,
• if applicable: list of publications, record of received training courses, internships, scholarships, participation in scientific conferences, received awards etc.,
• a copy of the MSc degree diploma (or of the BSc diploma, if the MSc degree has not been obtained yet)

As an attachment to your application please sign and enclose the following declaration: 

„I hereby authorize you to process my personal data included in the job application for the needs of the recruitment process in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act dated 29.08.1997 (uniform text: Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland 2002 No 101, item 926 with further amendments).”

We offer:

• A scholarship of 5000 PLN gross per month will be paid for 48 months.
• Place of work: Pasteura Street 7, Warszawa

The application procedure: 

Candidates should apply for this position through the registration system of the Graduate School of Physics at NCBJ (http://gradschool.ncbj.gov.pl/) and choose the physics research topic No 8 under the name “Properties of low surface brightness galaxies in the LSST era”. 

To be considered for a PhD position, the candidate should first pass the entry exam in physics (in English or Polish).

Only the applicants that passed the exam will be qualified for the second stage of the recruitment.

For more information about the Graduate School admission rules please check https://gradschool.ncbj.gov.pl/overview-2/

Date of notification of the results: 01.09.2024 r. 
Starting date of the contract: 01.10.2024 r.  

Additional comments:
Submitted documents will not be returned. We will contact selected candidates.
 

Information in accordance with Article 13 RODO on the processing of personal data:

1. The Personal Data Controller of your personal data is the National Centre for Nuclear Research (hereinafter referred to as Controller or NCBJ) with its registered office in Otwock, 7 Andrzej Sołtan Street, 05-400 Otwock.
2. Your personal data will be processed for recruitment purposes on the basis of applicable law, including the Labour Code. Data not required by law, provided by you in your documents, will be processed on the basis of your consent. Your consent is given by the transfer of this data.
3. The full content of the information clause of Article 13 RODO is available at https://www.ncbj.gov.pl/en/gdpr

Narodowe Centrum Badań Jądrowych posiada znak “HR Excellence in Research”. Rekrutacja prowadzona jest zgodnie z zasadami OTM-R (Open, Transparent an d Merit-based recruitment practices in Research Performing Organisations)