Postdoc (M/F) in nuclear physics - Theoretical study of fission

Fission represents one of the most challenging processes in nuclear physics. It involves complex collective quantum processes, dissipative mechanisms, and shell structure effects. Understanding these reactions and obtaining predictive models is important for applications. For example, it is crucial for predictions concerning the fission cycle during fast neutron capture processes. This is particularly relevant given the recent significant advances in understanding nucleosynthesis from multi-messenger astronomy.
Despite recent theoretical and experimental progress, several questions and challenges persist: Why are fission fragments deformed? What are the dominant fission modes for neutron-rich super-heavy nuclei? How can we better understand the generation of angular momentum in fission fragments? How can we reconcile collective quantum and dissipative approaches?

The project will involve studying fission using state-of-the-art time-dependent microscopic models. Several projects can be explored to develop innovative approaches to 1) better understand these reactions 2) optimize fission models to perform global approaches capable of describing fission across the entire nuclear chart 3) new approaches based on machine learning techniques. Applications will focus on the area of the nuclear chart reached by new fission experimental data and in the super-heavy region of astrophysical interest.

The “Laboratoire des deux Infinis – Toulouse” (L2IT) was created on 1 January 2020. The L2IT is a joint research unit of CNRS, through the Institute of “Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules” (IN2P3), and the Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier. L2IT researchers and engineers are studying the two infinities – the infinitely small and the infinitely large – and the relationships between the phenomena that govern each of them. Research projects are pursued within major international collaborations such as CERN in Geneva, with the gravitational waves detector Virgo at EGO or the spatial gravitational waves detector LISA, and the INDRA-FAZIA experiment in Caen.