PhD in experimental physics: how do you make the first antimatter molecule?

Within the NWO Vidi project SAMURAI at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, this PhD project studies radiative association of a proton and a hydrogen atom into H2+, the process by which the first molecules formed after the Big Bang and a proposed route to the first antimatter molecule, which has never been measured. The candidate excites H2 with two tunable extreme-ultraviolet lasers (60-205 nm) and images the fragments with velocity-map imaging, aims for the first spectroscopic observation of the excited electronic states of H2+, traps H2+ ions and controls their dissociation with millimetre waves and magnetic fields, and works towards measuring radiative association next to a crystal of laser-cooled Be+ ions, comparing data with multichannel quantum-defect theory and scattering calculations.

Applications close on 28 February 2027.

MSc (or close to completing one) in physics, physical chemistry or a related field; affinity with quantum mechanics and atomic, molecular and optical physics; interest in lasers and electronics.