Apologies for cross postings.  If you could please bring this position to
the attention of any prospective applicants.
Thanks
Steve Price

*****************************************************
PhD studentship to study the low-temperature reactivity of H atoms on
interstellar surfaces

An EPSRC funded PhD studentship is available to work with the group of
Professor Stephen Price at University College London to study the formation
of H2 from hydrogen atoms on analogues of interstellar surfaces.  The
formation of molecular hydrogen from atomic hydrogen is one of the key
chemical reactions in the Universe.  Astrophysicists have always considered
that molecular hydrogen is formed by the recombination of H atoms on the
surfaces of interstellar dust grains, given the low rate of the gas-phase
recombination of hydrogen atoms at interstellar temperatures and
pressures.  However, until recently there has been little experimental
information on this vital surface reaction under conditions approaching
that of the interstellar medium.  The "cosmic dust" experiment at UCL
probes the mechanism and dynamics of this heterogeneous reaction by probing
spectroscopically the molecular hydrogen molecules which are formed when an
H atom beam is incident on a cold graphite surface.  The laser spectroscopy
reveals in which vibrational and rotational states the molecular hydrogen
is formed.  This information is vital for astrophysicists in modelling the
energy budget of interstellar clouds.  To date, the experiment has shown
that H2 is certainly formed in its first and second exited vibrational states.

The studentship will involve extending the existing experiment to study the
recombination of H and D atoms to form HD and, with a new laser system,
probing for molecular hydrogen formation in high-lying vibrational states.
In addition, the addition of a new detector will allow the translational
temperature of the product modules to be measured.  The research programme
also involves close collaboration with theoretical groups in Sheffield (Dr.
A.J.Meijer)and Oxford (Prof. D.C.Clary) who are studying this
reaction.  This experiment forms part of the UCL Centre for Cosmic
Chemistry and is also part of the recently funded EPSRC collaborative
national network Astrosurf.

The position is open to both UK and EU nationals who have, or who expect to
have by September 2005, a good first degree in Chemistry, Chemical Physics,
Physics or a related discipline.  Prospective applicants should initially
contact Stephen Price. (<mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]) at
UCL Chemistry.

Further Information
References
Williams, D. A. et al. (1999) In Molecular Hydrogen in Space (Eds, Combes,
F. and Pineau des Forets, G.) Cambridge University Press, Paris, pp. 99-106.
Perry, J. S. A., Gingell, J. M., Newson, K. A., To, J., Watanabe, N. and
Price, S. D., 2002, Meas. Sci. Tech., 13, 1414-24.
Perry, J. S. A. and Price, S. D., 2003, Astrophysics and Space Science,
285, 769-76.
Links
The Price Group at UCL:  http://www.chem.ucl.ac.uk/people/sdprice/index.html
UCL Centre for Cosmic Chemistry:
<http://www.chem.ucl.ac.uk/cosmicdust/>http://www.chem.ucl.ac.uk/cosmicdust/
The Astrosurf Network:
<http://www.chem.ucl.ac.uk/astrosurf/>http://www.chem.ucl.ac.uk/astrosurf/

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