Post-Doctoral Position for Gamma-Ray Astronomy (M/F)

Missions

The CNRS Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules (LAPP) is opening a postdoctoral position within its Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) group to work on the search for pulsars and millisecond pulsars (MSPs) with very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays.
The successful candidate will play a leading role in the exploitation of stereoscopic Large-Sized Telescopes (LST) data for pulsar and MSP science, in the context of the ongoing construction, commissioning, and early scientific exploitation of the LST1–4 array. A major objective will be to develop and lead an observation program targeting the most promising pulsar and MSP candidates. The candidate will also lead searches for MSP emission toward the Galactic Center, both from individual point-like sources and from the unresolved MSP population.

Activity

The main scientific objective of the position will be to search for VHE emission from pulsars and MSPs, both from individual point-like sources and from unresolved populations, with a particular focus on the Galactic bulge.
A major responsibility will be to develop and lead an observation program targeting the most promising pulsar and MSP candidates, from target selection and sensitivity studies to observation strategy, data analysis, and scientific interpretation. The candidate will also exploit archival and upcoming LST observations of the Galactic Center to search for individual MSPs and for the cumulative emission of an unresolved bulge population.
To achieve these scientific goals, two complementary methodological developments will be central to the position. First, the candidate will exploit GammaLearn, the deep-learning reconstruction framework led by LAPP for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope data. GammaLearn is already operational and validated for monoscopic LST data, and the candidate will contribute to extending and optimizing its use in the stereoscopic LST1–4 context, with the goal of improving sensitivity to weak and low-energy pulsar signals, including phase-resolved searches.
In parallel, the candidate will lead the development of simulation-based inference (SBI) methods for the analysis of the Galactic Center region. These methods will be designed to jointly constrain unresolved source populations, diffuse gamma-ray emission, and gamma-like hadronic backgrounds in LST data, with particular emphasis on characterizing a potential MSP population in the Galactic bulge.
The position is embedded in the ANR-funded PROPULSING project, a multi-wavelength effort aimed at discovering and characterizing the population of old pulsars in the Galactic bulge. The candidate will work in a strongly interdisciplinary environment combining radio, X-ray, GeV, and TeV observations, theoretical modeling, population studies, deep learning, and advanced statistical inference. Multi-wavelength information will notably be used to identify the most promising VHE targets and interpret potential detections or upper limits.

Your Profil

Skills

Technical Skills:
• Proficiency in Python and scientific computing,
• PhD in astroparticle physics, astrophysics, or a related field,
• Strong interest in, and preferably experience with, data science, machine learning, or simulation-based inference,
• Familiarity with gamma-ray data analysis tools and statistical analysis methods is preferred,
• Experience with Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope data analysis is a strong asset,
• Experience with pulsar timing, phase-resolved analyses, or Galactic Center studies would be an advantage,
• Fluency in English; knowledge of French is welcome but not required.

Interpersonal Skills
• Creative, autonomous, and rigorous approach to research,
• Ability to take scientific initiative and lead analysis activities,
• Strong communication and collaborative skills,
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment,
• Excellent scientific writing and presentation skills in English (C1 min).

Your Work Environment

LAPP is a laboratory of the Institute of Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics (IN2P3), an institute of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), which coordinates programs in these fields. LAPP is a joint research unit (UMR 5814) of the CNRS and the University of Savoie Mont-Blanc (USMB). More than 150 researchers, teacher-researchers, engineers, technicians, administrators, students and foreign visitors work there. The research carried out at LAPP aims to study the physics of elementary particles and their fundamental interactions, as well as to explore their links with the great structures of the Universe. The work of the LAPP teams aims, among other things, to understand the origin of the mass of particles, to unravel the mystery of dark matter or to determine what happened to the anti-matter present in our universe at the time of the Big Bang.

The candidate will join the LAPP gamma-ray astronomy group, which is strongly involved in the construction, commissioning, analysis development, and scientific exploitation of LST and CTAO. PROPULSING is a collaborative project involving scientists from LAPP, LAPTh (Annecy), IPAG (Grenoble), and LPC2E (Orléans). The postdoc will collaborate with at least 2 PhD students. Guidance on theoretical modeling and MSP emission will be provided by LAPTh scientists. The position will provide opportunities to take scientific responsibility within the emerging stereoscopic LST data set, contribute to the development of the pulsar and MSP science program for CTAO, and deliver cutting-edge methodological developments with broad applicability to future LST and CTAO studies.

Constraints and risks

Some short trips have to be planned in France and abroad.

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Contract Type: Researcher on a fixed-term contract
Contract Duration: 24 months
Expected Start Date: January 1, 2027
Workload: Full-time
Salary: Starting at €3,132.83 gross per month (depending on experience)
Required Education Level: Ph.D.