Postdoctoral positions in theoretical cosmology and physics of the early universe

[Rajeev K Jain]

We announce the opening of two postdoctoral positions in theoretical cosmology -- one at the Centre for Strings, Gravitation and Cosmology, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, India, and the other at the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, India. The selected candidates will join the groups of Prof. L. Sriramkumar at IIT Madras and Dr. Rajeev Kumar Jain at IISc Bangalore. The focus of the research will be physics related to the early universe, including inflation, primordial black holes, non-Gaussianities and cosmological gravitational wave backgrounds. All candidates with general expertise in physics of the early universe are encouraged to apply.

The appointment will be for two years, subject to a yearly review of the performance. These positions are being funded by a joint CEFIPRA project between an Indian and a French team of researchers. The team consists of Prof. L. Sriramkumar (IIT Madras), Dr. Rajeev Kumar Jain (IISc, Bengaluru) and Dr. Dhiraj Kumar Hazra (The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai) on the Indian side, and Prof. Jérôme Martin (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, Paris), Prof. Julien Grain (Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Orsay) and Dr. Vincent Vennin (Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris) on the French side. The annual salary is fixed by the CEFIPRA guidelines. These positions offer a dedicated international travel budget each year to visit members of the French team for research collaborations. However, there is no budget for travel within India. The ideal starting date for these positions would be January 1, 2024, but it is also possible to start at a slightly later date. There is no possibility of extension beyond two years.

Note that IIT Madras and IISc are one of the top institutes in India and offer a welcoming and vibrant research environment. It should be mentioned that the cosmology groups at IIT Madras (see https://physics.iitm.ac.in/~sriram/index.html) and at IISc (see https://sites.google.com/view/rkjain/) consist of several Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows.

Applicants should send (i) a cover email/letter (mentioning a preference for IIT Madras or IISc), (ii) curriculum vitae, (iii) list of publications and (iv) a brief research statement (not more than 3 pages) to <[Log in to view email]> and <[Log in to view email]>, with the subject line “CEFIPRA PDF application: Your name”. Candidates should also arrange to send two letters of recommendation to both the email addresses by the deadline, with the same subject line.

The deadline for applications is November 15, 2023. However, review of applications will continue until the positions are filled. Note that candidates must have submitted/received their Ph.D. degree by the start date.

Please do not hesitate to write to us at the following email addresses if you have any queries:

• L. Sriramkumar ([Log in to view email])
• Rajeev Kumar Jain ([Log in to view email])

L. Sriramkumar and Rajeev Kumar Jain.
(On behalf of the Indian and French teams)