​​​​​Dear colleagues, 



Please bring the announcement of up to 2 PhD positions as described below to the attention of potential students. Thank you very much in advance, 



best regards, 

Melanie Schnell 





Project A: 



Investigating chirality using microwave spectroscopy (funded via the German Science Foundation) 

Most molecules of biochemical relevance are chiral. Even though the physical properties of two enantiomers are nearly identical, they can exhibit completely different biochemical effects, such as different odor in the case of carvone. In nature and as products of chemical syntheses, chiral molecules often exist in mixtures with other chiral species. It is an ongoing challenge to control and manipulate chirality, which can become useful for precision spectroscopy on chiral molecules or enantiomer-selective collision experiments. 

Recently, we demonstrated a new method of differentiating enantiomeric pairs of chiral molecules in the gas phase. It is based on broadband rotational spectroscopy, and it is a non-linear, coherent, and resonant three-wave mixing process that involves a closed cycle of three rotational transitions. The phase of the acquired signal bears the signature of the enantiomer, as it depends upon the product of the transition dipole moments, and the signal amplitude is proportional to the enantiomeric excess. A unique advantage of our technique is that it can also be applied to mixtures of chiral molecules, even when the molecules are very similar. Furthermore, this technique also bears the potential for enantiomer separation, as was recently shown in experiments on enantiomer-selective population transfer. This avenue of research will be explored further in this PhD project. 

This PhD project will be part of a new collaborative research program (collaborative research grant, German: Sonderforschungsbereich SFB1319) on “Extreme light sensing for chiral molecules, ELCH”, granted recently by the German Science Foundation. For this program, we are looking for a motivated PhD student with a physical chemistry/physics background and also with interest in building up a new spectroscopy experiment focused on chirality. Knowledge in molecular spectroscopy, molecular physics, electronics, and vacuum technology is appreciated. 



Project B: Astrochemistry (funded via an ERC Starting Grant) 

The goal of the ERC-funded research program, ASTROROT, is to significantly advance the knowledge of astrochemistry by exploring the molecular complexity of the interstellar medium and by discovering new complex molecules and key chemical processes in space. So far, mostly physical reasons have been investigated to explain the observed variations in molecular abundances. We study the influence of chemistry on the molecular composition of the universe by combining chirped pulse broadband rotational spectroscopy in the laboratory with pioneering telescope observations. We are interested in exploring the molecular complexity by discovering more complex molecules in space, detecting isotopologues that provide information about the stage of chemical evolution, generating abundance maps of highly excited molecules to learn about their environment, and identifying key intermediates in astrochemical reactions. 



In collaboration, we also perform experiments with the Free-electron lasers FELIX (in Nijmegen, the Netherlands) and FLASH (in Hamburg). The former is used to study the vibrational motion of astrochemically relevant species, while with the latter we perform time-dependent pump-probe studies on the photochemistry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). 

The PhD project will focus on the following subjects: 

To use the rotational signatures of molecular species, determined via broadband rotational spectroscopy mainly in the millimetre wave frequency range, to identify potential reaction pathways in ‪interstellar‬‬ space. With a combination of laboratory spectroscopy and spatially resolved radio astronomy, educts and products of potential reaction scenarios are identified. Spatial abundance maps will allow us to identify potentially connected educts and products. This provides information about which species are connected via chemical pathways. 



For both projects, suitable candidates should have a solid background in physical chemistry or molecular physics, and they should be interested in laboratory experimentation and data analysis. They should be self-motivated and interested in working in a team. 



Applications, including a meaningful motivation letter for the particular project (one page max) as well as three names for potential referees shall be sent to [log in to unmask] . All applications received by September 15, 2018 will be considered. If a suitable candidate is not found within the initial applications, later applications will also be considered.





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