- JOB
- Germany
21 Mar 2023
Job Information
- Organisation/Company
- Technische Universität Dresden
- Department
- Lohrmann Observatory
- Research Field
- Astronomy » Other
- Researcher Profile
- First Stage Researcher (R1)
- Country
- Germany
- Application Deadline
- Type of Contract
- Temporary
- Job Status
- Full-time
- Hours Per Week
- 40
- Offer Starting Date
- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?
- H2020 / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Reference Number
- w23-092
- Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number
- 101072454
- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?
- No
Offer Description
The goal of the ESA space telescope Gaia is the determination of the spatial positions and velocities as well as the astrophysical characteristics of about 2 billion celestial objects. Gaia is considered as a revolution in astronomy and enjoys the highest international reputation. The team of the Lohrmann Observatory is part of the European Gaia Consortium and primarily responsible for the relativistic aspects of the data processing, the details of the Gaia Celestial Reference Frame as well as the definition, computation and analysis of the astrometric solutions of Gaia.
One of the important results from Gaia is its astrometric catalogue of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), the latest version of which contains about 1.9 million sources with high-quality astrometric solutions. AGNs represent compact extragalactic sources on the sky for which Gaia is able to deliver good astrometry. The accuracy of the AGN astrometry from Gaia has now reached the accuracy of the radio astrometry that was dominating the field of AGN astrometry up to recently. Next data releases of Gaia are expected to surpass the current level of accuracy by a factor of up to 10. Astrometric catalogues of AGNs from Gaia play several important roles: building Gaia Celestial Reference Frame, revealing systematic errors in Gaia astrometry, allowing to discuss certain physical properties of the AGNs etc. It is therefore necessary to investigate and improve the characteristics of the AGN catalogue from Gaia. This PhD project aims to characterize the systematic errors in the parallaxes and proper motions of various subsets of AGNs delivered in Gaia Data Release 3. This includes a search of correlations between the level of systematic errors in AGN astrometry on various characteristics of the AGNs published by Gaia and available from other sources. The ultimate goal is to introduce an index for each source characterizing its astrometric quality. The results of this project will pave the way for an improved treatment of AGNs in the future Gaia Data Releases.
This PhD project is part of the MWGaiaDN MSCA Doctoral Network. The network consists of 10 academic partners across Europe at which 12 PhD students will be active in the network researching a range of topics with Gaia and other data. The project includes a number of secondments in the partner universities of the network.
Where to apply
- Sergei.Klioner@tu-dresden.de
Requirements
- Research Field
- Astronomy » Other
- Education Level
- Master Degree or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
- Master Degree or equivalent in astronomy or related disciplines
- Good average academic grade
- Experience in scientific computing
Specific Requirements
- Experience with a modern object-oriented computer language. Ability to work with data in modern computational environments.
- Good oral and written communication skills.
- Good team skills.
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Level
- Good
Additional Information
Benefits
The DCs will receive a salary according to MCSA regulation (page 78ff), including a living allowance, a mobility allowance and a family allowance, if eligible. (Country correction coefficient – see page 109.)
Eligibility criteria
- University degree (Master degree or equivalent) in astronomy, physics, or related areas with strong skills in research (proven by master thesis or equivalent).
- Proof of English proficiency. Basic communication skills in German are helpful.
- Applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment.
- Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies etc.) in Germany for more than 12 months in the last 3 years immediately prior to the date of recruitment.
- The successful applicant must enroll in the TU Dresden’s Graduate Academy.
Selection process
Applicants should provide the following:
- cover letter with a brief statement of research interests and a description of past research experience
- up-to-date curriculum vitae
- list of university courses taken and transcripts of grades obtained (i.e., original transcript and also a translated version if not in English or German - no need to have it notarized)
- contact information for at least two referees
Additional comments
The starting date of the position is indicative and will depend on the selected candidate.
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available
- 1
- Company/Institute
- Technische Universität Dresden
- Country
- Germany
- City
- Dresden
- Postal Code
- 01219
- Street
- August-Bebel-Straße 30
- Geofield
Contact
- City
- Dresden
- Website
- Street
- Helmholtzstraße 10
- Postal Code
- 01069
- Sergei.Klioner@tu-dresden.de
- Phone
- 4935146332821