Post-doctoral researcher in experimental physics W/M

Employeur

The university of Bordeaux is a great dynamic and responsible university that cares about the well-being of its staff. Joining us means working in a privileged environment within a particularly diverse and open professional community, benefiting from welcome and inclusion schemes, training and internal mobility. It means participating in an academic, scientific and human adventure. It means committing to meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

Join the Intense Lasers and Applications Center (CELIA)! The CELIA is a joint research unit of the University of Bordeaux, the CNRS and the CEA. Its main missions are the development of research related to the use of high-intensity lasers, the study of laser-matter interactions in extreme regimes, plasma physics and applications related to large laser infrastructures (LMJ/PETAL), the study of topics with high technological development potential or high societal impact.

As part of the LIGHT Major Research Program (GPR), we are recruiting a Post-Doctoral Researcher W/M in experimental physics.

This program aims at amplifying the dynamics initiated by our community to promote the development of high-impact research in light sciences and applications and to place it at the forefront of international excellence.

Votre mission

Our XUV Harmonic team studies the ultrafast dynamics of chiral molecules in the gas phase and two-dimensional materials using ultra-short light pulses, ranging from infrared to extreme ultraviolet, at the femtosecond and attosecond scale.

Structural and dynamic information is obtained by photoionizing the target of interest and measuring the three-dimensional pulse distribution of ejected photoelectrons using various instruments: spectrometers with velocity imaging with tomographic imaging, an electron-ion coincidence imaging spectrometer and a time-of-flight microscope in reciprocal space.

To study specific properties of the target, such as molecular chirality or quantum geometric properties of Bloch bands, we manipulate the polarization state of ultra-short light pulses and perform dichroism – circular dichroism measurements, elliptical or helical gas-phase photoelectrons, linear and circular optical dichroics or XUV photoemission dichroics in 2D materials.

This allows us, for example, to measure the laser-induced electron diffraction in chiral molecules [D. Rajak et al., Phys. Rev. X 14, 011015 (2024)], or to study the valley polarization of the Floquet-Bloch bands in transition metal dichalcogenides [S. Fragkos et al., Nat. Comm. 16, 5799 (2025)].

We wish to add a new dimension to this research by highlighting a property that currently remains hidden in our measurements: the electronic spin.

The heart of the project lies in the development and implementation of a new instrument intended to perform spin, time and angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy measurements on atoms, molecules and solids. This instrument will be used to study various effects related to spin polarization up to the attosecond scale.

In order to ensure scientific productivity during the technical development phase, parallel experiments will be conducted on the team’s existing light lines and detectors.

Vos atouts / Vos talents

Holder of a PhD in experimental physics, you have already performed photoelectron spectroscopy experiments: hemispheric analyzers, pulse microscopy, VMI, COLTRIMS or other types of photoelectron detectors, including the development of instruments.

·       Autonomous and capable of team spirit

·       You speak, read and understand English in a multicultural environment

·       You are ideally familiar with the physics of intense fields, ultra-fast dynamics, molecular chirality, and/or 2D materials.

Do you recognize yourself? Apply!

More information:

By joining this project, you will join a team of experimenters and 3 researchers, 6 doctoral students and 1 post-doctoral student who benefit from the support of technicians and engineers. A team of theorists consisting of 2 researchers and 3 PhD students is also working on this theme. You will also benefit from a network of national and international collaborators.

Based in Talence, Gironde - FRANCE – access by tramway line B (stop « Forum ») buses, bike. The laboratory is near the city-centre of Bordeaux and about 60 Km of the Atlantic coasts.

NB: the position is based in a laboratory in the Restrictive Zone, which requires an investigation prior to hiring, which can take up to 8 weeks.

12-month fixed-term contract renewable

Gross monthly salary: from 2750€ to 3300€ according to our salary grid

What we offer:

A training course adapted to support your job taking-up and your professional development

Up to 50 days of annual leave from the first year (in proportion to the arrival date)

Participation in complementary social protection and access to social action mechanisms

75% coverage of the public transport subscription in Gironde

Sustainable mobility package for home trips–work

Access to a staff parking

Leisure, sport and culture offers for all staff

Recruitment process: Applications are reviewed as they arrive.

Candidates selected for an interview will be contacted by the Recruitment Officer for a first pre-qualification phone conversation. An interview with the supervisor will then be organised by videoconference.

Interested applicants should send a CV, brief statement of qualifications and basis for interest in the position, a list of your relevant publications, and the email addresses of 2 appropriate references.