The Virgo and ET group at the University of Padova and INFN Padova section ( http://www.dfa.unipd.it/index.php?id=1599, http://www.virgo.lnl.infn.it/ ) would like to draw your attention on the opening of several PhD positions in Physics at the University of Padova, with application deadline June 16the, 2020 and expected start date October 2020. In particular, three positions may be of special interest.
One is reserved for candidates willing to engage in a research program focused on the design and commissioning of the subsystem for the production and injection of frequency-dependent squeezed-vacuum quantum states in Advanced Virgo Plus. It will comprise work on laser optics, quantum optics, and electronics; the candidate will be given the opportunity of spending a substantial amount of time at the EGO site in Cascina (Italy), working on the Virgo detector.

The other two positions are reserved for candidates (regardless of their nationality) with a foreign title equivalent to an Italian Laurea Magistrale (which is obtained with a 3+2 years study career). While the equivalence of the title has to be established case-by-case by the selection committee, a general indication is that it has to be comparable to a second-level, 5 year title (for example an US Bachelor would in general not be considered equivalent, while a US Master Degree would). Our group is searching for motivated candidates interested in any of the following topics:

- squeezed-vacuum quantum states and their application in gravitational wave detectors
- laser mode-matching sensing and actuation
- characterization of ultra-low absorption optical materials for cryogenic gravitational wave detectors
- thermal noise in solids in steady-states out of thermodynamic equilibrium
- modeling and experimental investigation of stray light and its impact on the Virgo detector
- fabrication and characterization of low-noise dielectric optical coatings for gravitational-wave detectors
- unmodeled search for gravitational wave signal in the data of LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detector
Application is completely web-based (but bear in mind that some documentation may need to be gathered in advance). It is important to notice that candidates interested in the reserved scholarships have to apply to them explicitly (in addition to applying for the open-topic ones). Further information and instructions can be found at the following link:

https://www.dfa.unipd.it/index.php?id=phd-physics
We encourage all interest students to contact any of us directly.

marco.bazzan at unipd.it
giacomo.ciani at unipd.it
livia.conti at pd.infn.it

Jean-Pierre.Zendri at pd.infn.it

claudia.lazzaro at pd.infn.it

Thanks,
The Virgo group in Padova