General information
Organisation
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.
The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
Reference
SL-DRF-26-0499
Direction
DRF
Thesis topic details
Category
Miscellaneous
Thesis topics
Large scale simulation and machine learning in nucleon structure
Contract
Thèse
Job description
The PhD proposal investigates the nucleon’s three-dimensional structure using Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs). GPDs give access to the spatial distribution of quarks and gluons, the energy-momentum tensor, and thus information on spin, internal pressure, and mass. Two main challenges arise: scarce exclusive experimental data and the high cost of precise lattice-QCD simulated observables. The project comprises two parts: (I) generate new lattice-QCD simulations of GPD moments, improve algorithms, and perform continuum extrapolations; (II) create machine-learning tools to tackle the ill-posed inverse problem and conduct global fits that combine experimental and simulated data. The work will be carried out at the European Joint Virtual Lab AIDAS shared between Julich Forschungszentrum (Germany) and CEA (France), with equal time spent in each country. Required skills include quantum field theory, object-oriented programming (C++, Python), and high-performance computing. The ultimate goal is the first reliable extraction of the nucleon’s 3-D structure, informing future facilities such as the EIC and EicC.
University / doctoral school
PHENIICS (PHENIICS)
Paris-Saclay
Thesis topic location
Site
Saclay
Requester
Position start date
01/10/2026
Person to be contacted by the applicant
Mezrag Cédric
cedric.mezrag@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRFU/DPhN/LSN
CEA Saclay - IRFU/DPhN
Bat. 703
91191 Gif-sur-Yvette
Tutor / Responsible thesis director
Moutarde Hervé
herve.moutarde@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRFU/DPhN
IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
33 1 69 08 32 06
En savoir plus
https://irfu.cea.fr/Phocea/Vie_des_labos/Ast/ast_groupe.php?id_groupe=4189
https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/jsc/about-us/structure/divisions/hpc4qs