We offer a 3-year PhD position at the Department of Physics of University of Trieste, Italy. The student will work under the supervision of Antimo Marrazzo and Maria Peressi on ab initio simulations of 2D artificial topological superconductors (TSC) and chiral Majorana fermions. The PhD project involves the development of novel electronic structure techniques to study topological superconductivity, as well as applications to van der Waals topological superconductors such as CrBr3/NbSe2. The research topics covers topological physics, spin-orbit coupling, ab initio electronic structure methods, 2D materials, high-performance computing, scientific programming and data science.

The student will spend at least 6 months in the THEOS group of Nicola Marzari at EPFL (Switzerland) and other 6 months with Marco Gibertini at the research center CNR-NANO in Modena (Italy).

Scientific environment 

The city of Trieste has the highest density of researchers per population in Europe (37 every 1000 inhabitants). Trieste has a particularly strong tradition in electronic structure theory and simulations, which is fostered by the University of Trieste and other research institutions such as ICTP, SISSA and the Materials Foundry of the National Research Council (CNR-IOM). The close proximity of several research institutions facilitates scientific exchange and collaborative work not only among theorists but also with leading experimental groups at the local synchrotron (ELETTRA), free-electron laser (FERMI) and materials foundry (CNR-IOM). 

Expression of interest and applications
We strongly encourage interested candidates to apply to the call https://www2.units.it/dottorati/files/PhD04ConcorsoPNRR39.pdf and also send an expression of interest to [email protected] using the tag “PhDTSC” in the object of the email. In the email, applicants should include: 

- a detailed CV containing a list of publications (if any) and a detailed description of both scientific and computational background, including a short abstract of their master thesis work

- motivation letter (max 1 page) 

- name and email address of at least one person who might be contacted for a reference letter.

The deadline for applications is *21 August 2023*. 

Funding & Salary 

The position is funded by the PNRR Digital Transition, which is financed by the European Union program NextGeneration EU. The net salary is about 1200 EUR/month, which allows a good living standard in Trieste. The cost of living and real estate in Trieste is moderate and the quality of life excellent. The salary will be increased by at least 50% during the extended visits abroad.

Trieste 

The city is medium size and beautifully located at the most northerly spot of the Adriatic Sea.  Local social life is lively, with cultural and natural attractions (theatres, sports, nightlife, the Karst highland, Venice, the Alps, and beautiful seaside resorts) a few strides to one hundred miles from the center of the city. Trieste is also an international sailing capital, hosting every year the world’s largest regatta and regularly producing top Olympic sailing athletes.