Postdoc position, linear accelerator studies

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has 40 000 students and more than 8 000 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.


MAX IV is a Swedish national large-scale research laboratory hosted by Lund University. It provides scientists from Sweden as well as internationally, with state-of-the-art instrumentation for research in areas such as engineering, physics, structural biology, chemistry and nanotechnology. Fully developed it will receive more than 2 000 scientists annually, conducting ground-breaking experiments in materials and life sciences using the brilliant X-ray light.



Your team
The core of the MAX IV facility are three sources of synchrotron radiation: a 3 GeV electron storage rings that provides ultrahigh brightness X rays, a 1.

5 GeV ring providing soft X rays and UV radiation and a 3 GeV linear accelerator that serves as an injector to the two storage rings and also generates electron bunches that drive the production of ultra-short X-ray pulses. The MAX IV linac was also designed to be fully prepared to handle the added high demands for an FEL driver.  You will work in the Accelerator Development Group, which study all the above accelerators.

Would you like to work at the brightest lightsource in the world?

MAX IV are looking for an postdoc who will study the linear accelerator and its improvements in order to build a Soft X-ray Free Electron Laser (SXL):

The SXL project
The Wallenberg foundation, Lund University (LU), The Royal institute of technology (KTH), Stockholm University (SU), Uppsala University (UU) and MAX IV Laboratory have jointly committed to fund a conceptual design report for a Soft X-Ray Free Electron laser, to be driven by the MAX IV 3 GeV LINAC. With a total cost of 30 MSEK, the CDR project started in March 2018 and the document was officially finished in March of this year.  As part of the continuation of the SXL project, we are developing our ideas and results from the CDR even further to prepare for the next phase in the project, the Technical Design Report (TDR). This will required both design work and extensive simulations as well as practical work involving development and commissioning of diagnostics, measurements and characterisation of the electron bunch.

The MAX IV bunch compressors are designed to give a positive R56 and therefore use the positive RF slope to create the energy chirp. This lets us use the natural T566 in the compressor for linearization of longitudinal phase space. This technique is stable and cost effective compared to compressing and linearising in a chicane and harmonic cavity. It also leads to a different bunch shape that will have both benefits and challenges for an FEL.

Within the SXL project, the linac needs further theoretical studies and simulations to optimize pulses both longitudinally and transversally. Chromatic effects, micro-bunching instabilities and CSR beam degradation needs to be minimized and the resulting re-design implemented in start-2-end simulations for the SXL. This is part of the topic for this announced post-doc.

On top of theoretical work, practical characterization and optimisation of the existing electron beam to suit driving a Soft X-ray Laser is in progress. To access the longitudinal phase space and slice parameters of the electron beam, and fully characterize the bunch compression scheme, a transverse deflecting cavity (TDC) setup has been designed and installations are ongoing at MAX IV. Participation in development and commissioning of the TDC and other temporal diagnostics is another part of the tasks for the announced post-doc position.

Your main work tasks will be

- Perform accelerator simulations for the MAX IV linear accelerator as a driver for the SXL.
- Theoretical optimization of the electron pulses with respect to CSR, chromatic effects and microbunching instabilities.
- Perform the accelerator part of FEL start-to-end simulations for SXL.
- Participate in and have duties for operation and commissioning of the MAX IV linac.
- Perform theoretical and practical work to characterize pulses in the MAX IV linac.
- Participate in the commissioning of Transverse deflecting cavity (TDC) and other temporal diagnostics, like beam arrival monitors (BAMs) and THz bunch length monitors.

To be successful in this role you need to have the following qualifications

- PhD in accelerator physics or corresponding
- Experience with linac simulations using the code ELEGANT, or similar
- Theoretical and practical experience with a linear accelerator

Below are seen as merits

- Experience with other accelerator simulation codes
- Experience with the electron gun simulation code Astra
- Experience with a TDC and other temporal diagnostics tools
- Experience with accelerator and laser synchronization systems

As a person you are eager to learn, open to new ideas and determined to get an idea of improvement to work in practice.

What we offer
When you join our MAX IV family, you step into a world of front edge science. We make the invisible visible by supporting scientist from all over the world, generating scientific results for the benefit of society. We offer you a multicultural work environment with great opportunities for personal development with respect for a healthy work-life balance.

Would you like to work in a challenging and supporting environment? Then join us and take the opportunity to make a real difference!

For further information, please visit:
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about-lund-university/work-lund-university
http://sweden.se
https://www.maxiv.lu.se/about-us/careerjobs/comp_and_benefits/

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