Pursuant to §7 (1) and (3) of Resolution No. 61/X/2022 of the Senate of the Jagiellonian University of 26 October 2022 on the terms and conditions for admission to the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences at the Jagiellonian University in the academic year 2023/2024, the Director of the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences announces an additional opening in the Doctoral School (2 positions) within the Astronomy education program, with employment funded through the research project of the European Research Council (ERC) titled “Hydrogen and deuterium survey of minor bodies: transformative science with a purpose-built CubeSat” (101089312 HYADES). The project leader, Dr. Michał Drahus (Institute - Astronomical Observatory, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy, and Applied Computer Science, Jagiellonian University), offers the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree related to the project’s theme.

Description of the research project:

The advent of standardized small satellites called CubeSats has made astronomical research from space more accessible than ever before. The HYADES project directly derives from the vast research possibilities offered by this platform, and aims at the construction of a miniature UV space telescope designed specifically to detect hydrogen and deuterium around comets and asteroids through the ultra-luminous Lyman alpha transition. Thanks to the unparalleled sensitivity to these atoms, the envisioned satellite will provide definite answers to some of the most profound problems of the near Universe.

First, it will enable ultra-sensitive searches for hydrogen clouds around future interstellar objects passing through the Solar System, with direct implications to our understanding of orbital anomalies in the absence of visible dust (such as observed in ‘Oumuamua), as well as physical nature of these bodies in general.

Second, the satellite will allow for deep investigation of hydrogen content around main-belt comets, probing water-ice outgassing from these bodies. The high level of sensitivity will be routinely achieved for all known objects of this class, including new main-belt comets discovered by LSST, transforming our knowledge of the ice reservoir in the outer Main Belt.

Finally, the satellite will provide homogeneous, model-independent and self-consistent measurements of the D/H ratio for dozens of comets from different dynamical classes down to 12 mag of total brightness, which is a factor-of-hundred improvement in sensitivity over the state-of-the-art methods and a major leap in measurement reliability. The D/H measurements will ultimately resolve the puzzle of cometary origin of water on Earth and unveil the link between present-day cometary reservoirs and their original place of formation in the solar nebula.

More information is available on the project website at https://www.hyades.oa.uj.edu.pl

Required qualifications for position 1:

• MSc degree in astronomy or astrophysics
• Documented experience in observational astronomy/astrophysics
• Excellent academic track record
• Interest in the project objectives and motivation to participate in the planned research (see before)
• Proficiency in English (B2 level or higher)

Additional qualifications for position 1:

Experience in small solar system body observations and astronomical observations of the Lyman alpha emission will be particularly valued.

Required qualifications for position 2:

• MSc degree in astronomy or astrophysics
• Documented experience in numerical modeling in astronomy/astrophysics
• Excellent academic track record
• Interest in the project objectives and motivation to participate in the planned research (see before)
• Proficiency in English (B2 level or higher)

Additional qualifications for position 2:

Experience in modeling of the cometary comae and modeling of the Lyman alpha emission will be particularly valued.

We offer:

• Stable employment at the rank of Research Assistant on a 48-month employment contract
• Gross salary of about EUR 2700
• High-quality mobile workstation for personal use to carry out project-related tasks
• Unlimited access to the team’s computing resources
• Financial support for travel expenses related to project work
• Benefits including sports activities, the option to purchase a Multisport Card, medical packages, and group insurance
• Additional social benefits

The competition will be conducted by the Admission Committee. Successful candidates will be admitted to the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences of the Jagiellonian University and employed at the University at the rank of of Research Assistant. Employment is conditional upon meeting the formal requirements for the Research Assistant position in the researchers’ workgroup and enrollment in the Doctoral School. Commencing education at the Doctoral School is conditional upon being hired for the Research Assistant position through an announced competition.

Competition schedule:

1. Announcement of the competition on the Doctoral School website: 7 Nov 2023
2. Opening of the competition (start accepting applications in the IRK): 14 Nov 2023
3. Deadline for submitting applications (closing date for IRK applications): 16 Nov 2023
4. Entrance examinations: 20 Nov 2023
5. Announcement of results: 22 Nov 2023
6. Enrollment: 23-24 Nov 2023
7. Expected start date of education: between 1 Jan 2024 and 1 Mar 2024

Requests for additional information on this offer may be sent to project PI at drahus@oa.uj.edu.pl or michal.drahus@uj.edu.pl.

Detailed recruitment conditions and procedures to PhD study programme Astronomy for academic year 2023/2024

Application and admission documents required for the PhD study programme Astronomy for academic year 2023/2024

Additional information

In the case of exposure to factors that are harmful, strenuous, or hazardous to health, the candidate is referred to a medical examination by an occupational physician at the time of enrolment. The candidate is required to provide a medical certificate stating that there are no contraindications to undertaking education within the deadline set by the education programme co-ordinator (applies to selected education programmes only).

Higher education certificates obtained abroad should:

1. bear an Apostille when the country issuing the document is covered by the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, done at The Hague on 5 October 1961 (Journal of Laws of 2005, No. 112, item 938), or
2. by subject to legalisation, in other cases. In particularly justified cases, at the request of the Grant Manager, the Director of the NŚiP Doctoral School may waive the requirement to provide apostille or to submit diplomas of higher education or other documents for legalisation. Any document issued in a language other than Polish or English must be accompanied by a certified translation into Polish or English.

Accommodation:

It is possible to apply for a place in the Doctoral House. Receipt of a place is determined by the availability of vacant places and the fulfilment of the conditions described on the Doctoral Student Society website.

IMPORTANT:

A person admitted to a doctoral school commences education and acquires the rights of a doctoral student upon taking the oath. The taking of the oath is done by personally signing the oath in the office of the Education Programme.

Health Insurance

During grant-funded employment, health insurance will be paid by the employer (Jagiellonian University) regardless of the PhD student's country of origin. In case of resignation from employment, the general rules for PhD students apply:

1. Citizens of Poland, European Union [EU], European Free Trade Association [EFTA] and holders of the Pole's Card, up to the age of 26 should be insured as members of their families, if these have insurance in the EU/EFTA. The insurance is confirmed by a valid EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) card issued in the country of insurance application. Once they have reached the age of 26, they will apply for health insurance coverage at the Jagiellonian University.
2. Other doctoral students (from outside the EU, EFTA) have to pay for their own voluntary health insurance at the Social Security Health institution [ZUS] (on the basis of a contract concluded with the Polish National Health Fund [NFZ] facility) or take out a commercial insurance with a guarantee amount of no less than EUR 30000. They may have both of these insurances. It is insufficient to have only medical packages (subscriptions) in private facilities, as these do not cover the costs of possible hospitalisation. We recommend that each candidate, in particular a foreign candidate, takes out insurance for the duration of the journey and a minimum of the first month of stay in Poland (until the formalities have been completed upon arrival).