CIC07: Master Project on Evolution of an electron projectile wave-packet in condensed matter

The Nanoscience Cooperative Research Center, CIC nanoGUNE, located in Donostia / San Sebastian, Basque Country (Spain), is currently looking for a

Master Student

to work on

Evolution of an electron projectile wave-packet in condensed matter

NanoGUNE is a research center devoted to conducting world-class nanoscience research for a competitive growth of the Basque Country. NanoGUNE is a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA) and is recognized by the Spanish Research Agency as a María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence.

The position is offered in the Theory Group, led by Emilio Artacho. More information can be found at https://www.nanogune.eu/en/research/groups/theory

Project Description
Particles impinging on matter at high energies can disrupt matter quite violently. The processes involved  are of great fundamental and applied interest. Fundamental: it represents a quantum dissipative process very strongly out of equilibrium, very non-adiabatic and with large energy transfers. It is of applied interest in the nuclear industry, in space exploration and for the ion radiotherapy of cancer. Part of the damage produced by the irradiation is due to secondary electron projectiles (electrons kicked by the primary projectile which become projectiles themselves). Indeed, it is known that the vast majority of the damage in living tissue (as in radiotherapy) is produced by low-energy secondary electrons.

We have been investigating that kind of radiation damage quite successfully for heavier projectiles. We used first-principles dynamical simulations of the quantum target electrons for a classical projectile perturbation moving through a solid or liquid system. However, the case of secondary electron projectiles is more demanding since the classical treatment of electron projectiles (which has already been done)  is not reliable enough.

After making yourself familiar with the relevant literature, the project will consist of computational first-principles quantum dynamical calculations for a projectile electron described by a quantum wave packet traversing a solid or liquid. We will be using real-time (discretised) time-dependent density-functional theory with ready-made programs that run over many CPU cores in parallel, and GPUs. The key challenge will be extracting the information from the simulations describing the wave-packet evolution together with the rest of the electrons. We will need physical information that could be used to calibrate phenomenological simulations used in ion therapy facilities like the one being deployed in Donostia.  

The project can be adapted for a one-year Masters (as in Spain) allowing for a few months of research project, or a two-year Masters (as in most of Europe) in which the second year would be mostly dedicated to the project at Nanogune.

Candidates should apply by following the instructions and reccomendations of the general call and by completing the form below and attaching the following documents:

a.A complete CV
b.Academic record and cover letter grouped in a single PDF file

The deadline for applications is 06/04/2026.
 

NOTES:

(i) All applicants will receive an answer after the end of the selection process; but please note that due to the large number of submissions that are expected, we cannot provide individual feedback.

(ii) Additional information about nanoGUNE's commitment towards HR excellence in Research and Gender Equality are available on our website.

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