PhD Projects at the Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group October 2024 Intake

The TPPC Group at King's College London is a vibrant community of 14 faculty members, 10 Postdocs, and 25 Phd Students. The faculty members are Prof Ruth Gregory, Prof John Ellis, Prof Malcolm Fairbairn, Prof Sarben Sarkar, Prof Bobby Acharya, Prof Mairi Sakalleriadou, Dr Lionel London, Dr Chris McCabe, Prof Eugene Lim, Prof Jean Alexandre, Dr Azadeh Maleknejad, Dr David J.E. Marsh and Dr Tevong You. Please see our Group Page for more information. For general information on doing a PhD in the physics department (such as entry requirements and fees), please see the Department Mphil/PhD page.

To apply, click here.

We highly encourage students from under-represented groups to apply!

We are now evaluating candidates, but are still accepting applications so do submit ASAP!

The following supervisors are looking for PhD students.

Prof Malcolm Fairbairn

Malcolm Fairbairn is looking for a PhD student who can work in a variety of different areas. Fairbairn has been working at the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology and current projects include studies into the nature of dark matter using particle physics and astronomical probes, the effect of dark matter on astronomical objects such as stars and compact objects, and probes of dense clusters on dark matter which appear in many theories using gravitational lensing. He is also interested in particle physics beyond the standard model phenomenology and its relation to dark matter, dark energy and inflation. Fairbairn also works on gravitational waves from black holes and phase transitions in the early Universe. He is looking for a student who will work in several of these areas and will ideally start to come up with their own ideas for projects, a process which he will aid and support.

Prof Fairbairn has a PhD studentship to recruit.

Dr Doddy Marsh

David (Doddy) Marsh is looking for a student to work on aspects of axion dark matter, at the interface of theoretical particle physics and astrophysics/cosmology. Depending on the interests of the student, there are a variety of research projects available. You can learn about dark matter and cosmic structure formation, you can learn about models of dark matter within string theory, or you can investigate new ideas for dark matter detection in the laboratory. You will collaborate closely in the context of a research group within KCL, and with international partners in Canada and the US.

Dr Marsh has a PhD studentship to recruit.

Prof Jean Alexandre

My research involves non-perturbative aspects of QFT, with relevance to different areas of theoretical physics. This includes particle physics, but also semi-classical gravity or cosmology, and potentially condensed matter. I am looking for a dedicated PhD student, with a strong mathematical background, who can help me go forward in one or few of these directions.

Dr Alexandre has a PhD studentship to recruit.

Dr Chris McCabe

Among the most pressing needs within physics today is to understand the nature of dark matter, a ubiquitous and mysterious component of matter that reveals its presence at all scales throughout the universe. There is a rich tapestry of dark matter candidates consistent with astrophysical and cosmological observations. A natural boundary arises around the eV mass scale. Dark matter candidates lighter than this exhibit wave-like behaviour, while heavier ones exhibit particle-like properties. Broadly, experiments pursuing wave-like candidates seek to detect the coherent wave effects induced by the dark matter, while those investigating particle-like candidates focus primarily on detecting scattering events involving dark matter.

This studentship will train you as a phenomenologist so that you can translate principles of fundamental theories into concrete predictions and interpretations that can be tested and refined based on experimental evidence. You will have the opportunity to work on physics signals that can be tested with the AION experiment (wave dark matter), or with the XLZD/Migdal experiments (particle dark matter). The AION collaboration is pioneering the development of an ultra-sensitive atom interferometer to be hosted at the University of Oxford. XLDZ will be the definitive underground rare-event observatory based on two- phase liquid xenon time projection technology. Migdal is a smaller experiment aiming to be the first to detect a rare quantum mechanical effect. This studentship represents a unique opportunity to be at the cutting edge of theoretical physics, directly contributing to groundbreaking experiments that have the potential to reshape our understanding of the universe.

Dr McCabe has a PhD studentship to recruit based in KCL. In addition, Dr McCabe has a joint PhD studentship with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to recruit -- please see RAL link for further information but please be aware this joint studentship matriculated at KCL and hence requires an application through the KCL system. Please contact Dr McCabe for more info.

Dr Azadeh Maleknejad

Dr. Azadeh Maleknejad is a Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Department of Physics, King’s College London. She is a theoretical physicist interested in theoretical cosmology and particle physics. The purpose of her research is to understand the particle physics of the earliest epochs of cosmology, the origin of matter–antimatter asymmetry, and the nature of dark matter. Most of her works are on the QFT aspects of cosmological systems.

I am seeking a well-motivated individual with a strong academic background and a keen interest in the fundamental aspects of quantum field theory, early universe physics, and gravitation.

Dr Maleknejad has a PhD studentship to recruit.

Prof Ruth Gregory

The dynamics of the early universe and black holes are fundamental reflections of the interplay between general relativity and quantum fields. These situations are challenging to observe and in many of these extreme regimes, existing theoretical approaches are based on approximations and are thus limited in the range of observable phenomena for which they are able to provide predictions.

There is another way strongly gravitating systems can be explored – analog gravity simulators. These are laboratory systems that behave (in a certain sense) like the curved spacetime around a black hole. KCL is part of the QSimFP (Quantum Simulators for Fundamental Physics) consortium, modelling the new quantum analog experimental set- ups and developing new theory parallels.

I am working on aspects of (analog) quantum black holes, looking at ringdown, echoes, and the black hole bomb instability. I am also interested in phenomena associated to time-dependent horizons, and how distinguishable these are.

Prof Gregory has a PhD studentship to recruit.

Funding your PhD

Funding your PhD depends on your Fee Status. At this moment, there are 2 fee classes : Home and International. Please read the UKCLSA Advice on Fees to check which fee status are you. If you have questions on your status, please direct your questions to the KCL Admissions (and not me or the supervisors as we are not up to date with the constant change of rules due to the continuing uncertainty caused by Brexit.)

STFC Studentships
STFC PhD Studentships : The Group has some STFC PhD positions which will pay the fees and a stipend for 3.5 years. This funding is open to all students. All eligible students are automatically considered for this funding. Funding will be full tuition and a stipend for Home and International Students.

NMES Fellowships
We also have a very limited number of NMES Fellowships which will pay the fees and a stipend for 3.5 years. This funding is open to all students. All eligible students are automatically considered for this funding.

K-CSC Scholarships
Students from China are eligible to apply for the Kings-CSC studentships. To apply requires the student to contact potential supervisors who will sponsor the student. The closing date is Jan 2 2024

Bell Burnell Scholarship
We will support any applications to the Bell Burnell Scholarship, if you can find a suitable supervisor who is willing to sponsor your application. Please contact your potential supervisor directly.

International Fee Waivers
If you are an international student with access to (non-self) funding that covers a Home student, KCL has a limited number of competitive fee waiver scheme which you can apply to if you have an offer from us.

Self-Funding
If you have your own funding sources (e.g. national scholarships), please contact your potential supervisors directly.

Other Sources
For more information, check out the KCL postgraduate funding page.

Your Statement of Research Interests/Proposals
In your application you will be asked to submit a short statement of your research interests. This should reflect broadly what your research interests are, your past research experiences, and your future expectations for your PhD. It does not have to be specific -- this statement is to potential supervisors gauge on your suitability and compatibility with their research programmes.

For more information

Please contact the TPPC Admissions Tutor Prof Eugene A. Lim (eugene.lim@kcl.ac.uk).