PDRA in Polarimetry of Extreme Outflows

The Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI) of Liverpool John Moores University owns and operates a 2.0-m robotic telescope (“The Liverpool Telescope”) on La Palma in the Canary Islands.  Building on the success of the RINGO series of polarimeters, we are now constructing a fully optimized polarimeter (MOPTOP) for time domain astrophysics.  We seek to appoint an STFC funded PDRA to lead the scientific exploitation of MOPTOP in a diverse range of time-variable sources such as active galactic nuclei (AGN), X-ray binaries (XRBs) and gamma ray bursts (GRBs).  In these high energy sources, polarization allows us to probe the physical conditions at spatial scales that will never be accessible to direct optical imaging observations.

Duties of the Liverpool based PDRA will include modification of existing RINGO3 pipeline software to handle MOPTOP data, participation in the instrument calibration activities, managing observing programmes, data reduction, and leading the scientific interpretation of the data in at least one of the above science areas as well as others the PDRA identifies.

More details about the Liverpool Telescope are available at http://telescope.livjm.ac.uk/

More details about ARI are available at http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/Main_Page

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Iain Steele (Liverpool Telescope Director) email: [email protected] or Dr Helen Jermak (New Robotic Telescope Project Scientist) email: [email protected]

For further information, including job description, and to apply online please visit our website:

https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/vacancies-at-ljmu

Alternatively contact the People and Organisational Development Department on +44 151 904 6130 or 6131 (email: [email protected])

LJMU is committed to achieving equality of opportunity. Applications are particularly welcome from all women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented within ARI. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age or disability.