We are pleased to announce a PhD project in quantum information theory and quantum foundations at Université Grenoble Alpes and Institut Néel at Grenoble, France. The focus of the project will be on quantum causal structures, their interface with relativistic causality and applications for information processing in space-time (see project description below). 



- What we are looking for:


* An excellent and highly motivated doctoral candidate who shares a passion for addressing foundational questions in quantum physics in synergy with developing related information-processing applications.

* A candidate who demonstrates enthusiasm for learning and applying interdisciplinary techniques, and willingness to collaborate with other team members (faculty and PhD students) during their project.

* Strong working knowledge of quantum mechanics is required. A background in quantum information theory is not mandatory, but some familiarity with the field is expected. Knowledge of relativistic physics will also be appreciated, but is not necessary.



- About the project:


Causality is a concept that is central in fundamental physics as well practical data-driven sciences. Quantum theory challenges our classical intuitions about causality, and there has recently been great progress in quantum information-theoretic approaches for defining causality in the quantum world. These approaches offer powerful techniques for studying information-processing tasks in practical quantum networks and have also revealed the theoretical possibilities for more general quantum protocols where the order of operations may be in quantum superposition (sometimes referred to as indefinite causal structures). By combining information-theoretic as well as relativistic approaches to causality, this project aims to address open questions relating to: characterising the landscape of quantum causal structures, identifying their realisability in different physical regimes and practically certifying novel quantum resources suggested by these approaches and their potential applications for quantum information processing tasks in space-time. 



The selected candidate would contribute to research on this project, under the joint supervision of Dr. V. Vilasini (soon to join the Inria, QINFO Team, Université Grenoble Alpes, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=F8Y2tmkAAAAJ&hl=en) and Dr. Cyril Branciard (CNRS, Institute Néel, Grenoble, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QL6D9OAAAAAJ&hl=en). 




- Application Process:
Interested and eligible (see below) candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Vilasini via email at [vilasini@phys.ethz.ch] with the subject line “PhD at Grenoble”, along with the following documents

1. Up to date CV

2. Transcripts from bachelor's and master's degrees

3. A cover letter detailing the candidate’s motivation for pursuing a PhD in the proposed field and topic, their expectations for the next three years, future career plans and how this opportunity would contribute towards these plans. 

4. Two reference letters (please request your referees to directly email these to the same email address, and mention the names and email addresses of the referees in your email)


Priority for pre-selection will be given to applicants who submit the above-mentioned documents before the 15th of January 2024. Pre-selected candidates will be invited to apply to the Spring 2024 call of the QuanG Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Action COFUND program of the European Union, operated by the QuantAlps federation (https://quantalps.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/education/phds/). To be eligible to apply to this program, candidates must not be living in France for more than 12 months during the past 3 years (relative to the deadline of the QuanG program call in Spring 2024). If the candidate pre-selected for the project is successful in the application to the program, they will be offered a PhD position on this project. The earliest starting date for the PhD position would be in October 2024, following the selection procedure of the QuanG program. 

Applications from candidates belonging to underrepresented communities in STEM fields (in terms of gender, race, ethnicity etc.) are strongly encouraged!