PhD Position: Beta Decay and Nuclear Structure for Astrophysical Applications

Organisation/Company IAA - ULB Research Field Physics » Computational physics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 1 Nov 2026 - 12:00 (Europe/Brussels) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The origin and abundance of elements in the Universe remain key open questions in astrophysics. While the production of lighter nuclei in stellar interiors is relatively well understood, the synthesis of heavier elements and the role of radioactive decay processes such as beta decay present significant challenges. Beta decay plays a crucial role in stellar nucleosynthesis, the evolution of stars, and the energy generation in explosive astrophysical events. Understanding beta decay rates for neutron-rich nuclei is essential for modeling the r-process and other nucleosynthesis pathways, yet experimental data for many exotic nuclei remain scarce.

Astrophysical questions such as nucleosynthesis pathways and the properties of exotic nuclei motivate improved modeling of nuclear structure and decay processes. The most stringent test of our theoretical understanding lies in constructing models that not only reproduce known nuclear properties but can also reliably predict the behavior of nuclei far from stability, including their beta decay properties under extreme conditions of neutron/proton imbalance.

This PhD project fits within the broader aims of the Brussels group to provide nuclear data for astrophysical applications. The IAA has a long-standing tradition of developing large-scale nuclear structure models; our most recent BSkG series successfully describes static properties of nuclei (masses, radii, level densities, etc.) across the nuclear chart. The goal of this project is to extend these models to the calculation of beta decay properties. The successful candidate will work on developing the theoretical frameworks to compute beta decay half-lives and strength functions for nuclei relevant to astrophysical processes. The candidate will assist in updating BRUSLIB ( http://www.astro.ulb.ac.be/bruslib/ ) by incorporating beta decay data, enabling better dissemination of results to the astrophysics community.

The succesfull candidate will start a PhD at the Institut d’Astronomie et d’Astrophysique (IAA) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. We offer a dynamic research environment with expertise in the role of nuclei in the cosmos, featuring regular group meetings, an open culture of scientific discussion, and opportunities for collaborations. Applications will be reviewed starting immediately, and the successful candidate is encouraged to start as soon as possible.

Requirements

Research Field Physics Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

The candidate must hold a master degree in physics.

The candidate must have excellent programming skills and a marked interest in numerical simulations and algorithms; knowledge of programming languages such as Fortran, C/C++ and Python is desirable.

The candidate should have good organizational skills, a taste for interdisciplinary research, excellent scientific writing and presenting skills and be able to work independently.

Working in our international team requires capacity of team work as well as a sufficient level of spoken and written English.