PhD position in Quantum Matterwave Optics

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Offer Description
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We are inviting application for a PhD position in Quantum Matterwave Optics.

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WHY JOIN OUR BEC GROUP ?
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You will work on some of the most exciting and advanced experiments on quantum mechanics and ultra-cold atoms anywhere.
You will be part of an international, dedicated, and closely-knit team of young scientists.
You will receive excellent training. You will attend dedicated training schools schools. You will be working closely with some of the leaders in the field.
You will have the opportunity of placements in high-tech quantum companies
Last, but not least Crete is a wonderful island, a beautiful place to live

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PHYSICS BACKGROUND
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Our main objects of interest are Bose-Einstein Condensates -- an ultra-cold quantum gas, where hundreds of thousands of atoms are in one and the same quantum state and behave more like a huge quantum-coherent matterwave than like individual atoms. Recent advances in our ability to generate and manipulate quantum-coherent matterwaves is now ushering in a new era of quantum optics, where the roles of matter and light are almost exactly reversed. We are starting to be able to create almost arbitrary matterwave-images, (de)magnify, and project them. Matterwave mirrors, lenses and cavities are rapidly becoming reality. We have recently even been able to demonstrate a coherent waveguide for matterwaves.

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OUR WORK
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The Cretan Matter Waves Group on Crete is one of the leading European Groups in Atomtronics [1] and Matterwave Optics. We have recently built the first fully coherent waveguide for matterwaves, which we published in Nature [2]. In this system, we used a novel gravito-magnetic matte wave lens to demonstrate delta-kick cooling down to a temperature of a few piko-Kelvins [3].

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YOUR WORK
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You will be working on our BEC1 machine on matterwave guides and/or matte wave optics. The BEC experiment is already operational, nevertheless, you will learn about all aspects of the system, from lasers to RF electronics, computing and fiber optics. Atom Quantum Experiments have the great advantage that we can understand most aspects ab initio, which gives you the opportunity to also learn these aspects from leading theorists, with whom we are collaborating both locally and abroad. BEC1 is the most advanced experiment on coherent matterwave guiding today. NOTE: You will benefit from us being the first to demonstrate ultra-smooth matterwave guides: there are still plenty of "low hanging fruit", i.e. 'simple' experiments that we can do for the first time. If this sound daunting, don't worry, we have a very strong track-record of training students. You will start from the simple and reach the novel and complex new physics in due course.

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YOUR BACKGROUND
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We are open to students from many different backgrounds. You need to have an advanced undergraduate-level understanding of quantum mechanics, but not necessarily a degree in Physics. We believe that bright people can change fields very quickly. A variety of skills can have surprising impact. If they are willing to put in the extra effort, then a change of field can contribute to a broader view and foster new ideas.

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THE NANOLACE PROJECT
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This PhD will be part of the In the nanoLace project. We are going to use matterwave optics to build a novel type of matterwave lithography, where we will exploit the fact that time-dependent matterwave lenses will enable us to reduce the wavelength of matterwaves by orders of magnitude. We expect to be able to generate arbitrary patterns as small as a few nanometres. Potential applications stretch from the fundamental (quantum-matterwave-optics) to the industrial (micro-chip production with nanometric structures). To this end we are now in the process of setting up a novel matterwave lithography machine based on Bose-Einstein Condensates. The project is fully financed in the framework of the EU Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) network nanoLace.

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HOW TO APPLY
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Please send an email to applications@bec.gr, including
- motivation letter
- list of grades both for your undergraduate and graduate studies.
- CV

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REFERENCES
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[1] Atomtronic circuits: From many-body physics to quantum technologies Luigi Amico, Dana Anderson, Malcolm Boshier, Jean-Philippe Brantut, Leong-Chuan Kwek, Anna Minguzzi, and Wolf von Klitzing Reviews of Modern Physics 94 4 (2022) DOI: /10.1103/RevModPhys.94.041001
[2] Hypersonic Bose--Einstein condensates in accelerator rings Saurabh Pandey et al. Nature 570 7760 205--209 (2019) DOI: /10.1038/s41586-019-1273-5
[3] Atomtronic Matter-Wave Lensing Saurabh Pandey, Hector Mas, Georgios Vasilakis, and Wolf von Klitzing Physical Review Letters 126 17 (2021) DOI: /10.1103/physrevlett.126.170402

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REQUIREMENTS
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We are looking for a student with a strong background in experimental physics. The most important things he/she should bring along is enthusiasm for deeply understanding physics. The student should have a master-level degree in Physics or a related discipline. Some experience in experimental quantum mechanics would be appreciated, but is not required. Alternatively, a good background in optics would be appreciated. We are open to students from a variety of backgrounds.

=============================
WHY JOIN OUR BEC GROUP ?
=============================

You will work on some of the most exciting and advanced experiments on quantum mechanics and ultra-cold atoms anywhere.
You will be part of an international, dedicated, and closely-knit team of young scientists.
You will receive excellent training. You will attend dedicated training schools schools. You will be working closely with some of the leaders in the field.
You will have the opportunity of placements in high-tech quantum companies
Last, but not least Crete is a wonderful island, a beautiful place to live

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SELECTION PROCESS
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The applicant should send to applications@bec.gr containing:

- A motivation letter,
- A complete list of grades both forher/his undergraduate and graduate studies.
- A CV

After a pre-selection there will be an informal interview and a small presentation of your previous work.

This will be followed by a more formal interview by the potential future supervisors.

The position will stay open until a suitable candidate is found.
Website for additional job details
https://www.bec.gr