Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Solar Physics - Sutherland Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 8ST, GBSalary: £41,064 - £46,049Work hours: Office Hours Monday to Friday, Full TimeJob DescriptionABOUT THE ROLEThe Solar and Space Sciences research group at Northumbria University in partnership with Lockheed Martin is excited to advertise a postdoctoral position in the field of solar physics. In this role, you will have the opportunity to join one of the largest and diverse groups in the UK in the field of solar and space sciences. The group includes experts in the physics of the solar atmosphere, the solar-terrestrial connection, the magnetosphere and ionosphere, planetary environments and small body systems. The group has recently expanded to include space instrumentation, which is one of the main topics of the project.You will work with Dr Patrick Antolin in the delivery of research activity on the project “Analysis Methods for Full-disk Spectroscopic Monitoring of the Sun”, undertaking personal and collaborative research activity, contribute ideas, and/or enhancement of techniques or methodologies, and writing up research work for publication.The position is funded for 8 months. There is potential for this post to be extended subject to further grant funding.Overview of the projectThe most hazardous space weather events solar eruptions occur on the visible solar disk and can often go undetected in Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) images of the solar corona. Even when detected, the arrival times and energetic estimations are poorly constrained due to the strong projection effects. Spectroscopic data is essential for properly detecting and measuring the energy content of such events.This project investigates a spectroscopic EUV instrument concept capable of monitoring the full solar disk at high cadence. Building on NASA's Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) mission, whose 35-slit spectrograph captures solar eruption dynamics over active regions, we propose extending this multi-slit approach to full-disk coverage. Doing so requires new inversion methods for interpreting the resulting complex datasets.Project Description and ScopeThe work of the research fellow will consist in extending the multi-slit disambiguation approach developed for MUSE and in exploring the feasibility of a full-disk spectroscopic solar monitor. The project also includes close collaboration with the Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory group in Palo Alto (CA, USA).This project would use ready-made state-of-the-art whole-Sun numerical modelling data to achieve the following aims:1. Develop and validate new inversion methods for multi-slit spectroscopic instruments required to scan the full solar disk.2. Define the observational requirements of the space mission to achieve the desired spatial, temporal and spectral resolution to capture the energetic events with the necessary accuracy for space weather forecasting.The inversion/inference methods to explore include neural networks (e.g. GFAT, SVD, SDC) and Differential Emission Measure, so some knowledge in those fields is desired.Place of Project PerformanceThe project’s execution is expected to take place at Northumbria University, UK and Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), Palo Alto CA, USA. Work in support of the project may be required at other locations per coordination and decision of the PI. ABOUT THE TEAMThis project will be led by Dr. Patrick Antolin (MUSE Co-I, Northumbria University), and stems from a collaborative partnership between Northumbria University and Lockheed Martin, which seeks to accelerate space research, boost skills, and foster innovation within the UK’s North East space sector.This Research Project is being delivered within the School of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics of Northumbria University. You will belong to the Solar and Space Physics Research Group, a successful group pursuing high-international-priority research across the broad remit of Solar and Space Physics. The group demonstrates international leadership across theory, numerical modelling, observations of solar and space plasma, data intensive science, and a growing reputation for space-related hardware. The group is also one of the Peaks of Research Excellence of the university, and is home to the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre (NESST). Evidence of the group’s success includes funding from STFC, NERC, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Astronomical Society, the US Air Force, and the UKSA. Our group is over 70 strong and growing, with 23 academic staff members that include eight independent research fellows, with support from STFC, NERC, the Royal Society and UKRI Future Leader Fellowships. The group played multiple roles in the UKRI SWIMMR (Space Weather Instrumentation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk) programme in support of the UK Met Office. Our Northumbria Space Technology Laboratory provides new opportunities to work with industry in the space sector. ABOUT YOUApplicants should hold a PhD and have demonstrable specialist expert knowledge in one or more of the following areas:Machine Learning tools and architecture (e.g. GFAT, SVD, SDC) applied to inverse problems.Strong python programming and data-analysisExtreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) synthesisInverse methods (e.g. Differential Emission Measure) applied to astrophysical quantitiesPhysics of the solar atmosphere and forward modelling of numerical simulation data for comparison with observationsFurther information about the requirements of the role is available in the person specification.If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Dr Patrick Antolin.Due to the timescales associated with the project and the need to have the appointable candidate in post as soon as possible, we will not be able to consider candidates who do not have a current right to work in the UK. 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