Precision Timing and Particle Association in High-Intensity Neutrino Beams with Gaseous and Silicon Dete

Thesis topic details

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-27-0292  

Direction

DRF

Thesis topic details

Category

Corpuscular physics and outer space

Thesis topics

Precision Timing and Particle Association in High-Intensity Neutrino Beams with Gaseous and Silicon Detectors

Contract

Thèse

Job description

The next generation of neutrino experiments aims to achieve unprecedented precision in neutrino interaction cross-section measurements, a prerequisite for reducing systematic uncertainties in future oscillation experiments such as DUNE and Hyper-Kamiokande. The proposed nuSCOPE facility at CERN introduces an innovative approach based on monitored and individually tagged neutrino beams, where precise reconstruction of charged particles produced in meson decays provides information on the neutrino flux, flavour and energy. Realising this concept requires detector systems combining excellent timing and spatial resolution, high-rate capability and large-area coverage.

This PhD project proposes to investigate precision timing and particle association using complementary gaseous and silicon detector technologies. The main experimental activity will focus on developing a new generation of large-area PICOSEC-Micromegas detectors, exploiting Cherenkov-light conversion and fast gaseous amplification to achieve timing resolutions of a few tens of picoseconds. Particular attention will be devoted to understanding the physical mechanisms limiting timing performance and efficiency, optimising robust photocathodes, detector geometry and readout electronics, and preserving uniform performance when scaling towards larger surfaces. The integration of PICOSEC timing layers with thin Micromegas tracking detectors will also be investigated. In parallel, the project will contribute to the characterisation of MiniCACTUS monolithic silicon sensors, combining fine spatial granularity, precise timing and high-rate capability for the central regions of the spectrometer.

A central scientific objective will be to establish the relationship between detector performance and neutrino-tagging capabilities. Through simulations and reconstruction studies, the doctoral researcher will investigate how timing resolution, spatial granularity, detection efficiency and particle multiplicity influence track association, accidental coincidences and neutrino reconstruction. These studies will provide quantitative feedback for optimising the complementary detector technologies.

The experimental programme will exploit dedicated laser, cosmic-muon and radioactive-source facilities at CEA, enabling detector development during CERN's accelerator long shutdown. Supported by the recently funded ANR EXTASE project, providing resources for prototypes, equipment and scientific exchanges, the thesis will combine innovative detector development with physics-driven optimisation, contributing to nuSCOPE and future high-intensity particle-physics instrumentation.

University / doctoral school

PHENIICS (PHENIICS)
Paris-Saclay

Thesis topic location

Site

Saclay

Requester

Position start date

01/10/2027

Person to be contacted by the applicant

PAPAEVANGELOU Thomas thomas.papaevangelou@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRFU/DEDIP/DETECS

01 69 08 26 48

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

PAPAEVANGELOU Thomas thomas.papaevangelou@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRFU/DEDIP/DETECS

01 69 08 26 48

En savoir plus


https://irfu.cea.fr/