Oriol Romero-Isart is inviting applications to fill several PhD and PostDocs positions to join our theory team in Innsbruck (Austria), jointly affiliated with the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Institute for Theoretical Physics of the University of Innsbruck.

The goal of the project is to prepare macroscopic quantum superpositions at unprecedented regimes of mass and spatial delocalization. We will work very closely with the experimental groups of M. Aspelmeyer (Vienna), L. Novotny (ETH Zürich), and R. Quidant (ETH Zürich), as this project has been recently awarded an ERC Synergy Grant Q-Xtreme (2021-2027). We aim at (i) testing quantum mechanics in regimes where collapse models predict a breakdown of the superposition principle, (ii) establishing a new generation of ultra-precise sensors, and (iii) opening the door to exploring the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravity. This will be accomplished by studying levitated objects in vacuum, understanding their center-of-mass motion, rotational dynamics, as well as internal solid-state excitations interacting with the environment, as explained in this quantum science seminar.

Candidates should have a background either in theoretical quantum optics with strong analytical skills, or in computational physics to develop a numerical simulator modelling complex experiments. Women are particularly encouraged to apply. 

- PostDoc applications -- containing CV, publication list, motivation letter (1 page max.), most important research achievement (1 page max.), and contact details of at least three potential referees -- should be submitted electronically using the subject line “PostDoc_Application” to oriol.romero-isart@uibk.ac.at.

- PhD applications -- containing CV, publications (if available), grades from university studies, motivation letter (1 page max.), and contact details of at least one potential referee -- should be submitted electronically using the subject line “PhD_Application” to oriol.romero-isart@uibk.ac.at.

Positions will be open until they are filled. Gross salaries per year are around 31,000 Eur (PhD student), 54,500 Eur (PostDoc) and 60,000 Eur (Senior Postdoc).