Developing a virtual experiment to estimate β-decay rates in plasma conditions

Position: Research appointment (pre-doc) Institute: Uni. Perugia
Posted on: 20/02/2026 Deadline: 09/03/2026

Scientific-Disciplinary Group

02/PHYS-01 - Experimental Physics Of Fundamental Interactions And Applications

Description

The project aims at developing a “virtual experiment” to study the variation of the β-decay rate of isotopes immersed in an ECR plasma. The experiment consists of a numerical modelling of plasma, including electron and ion dynamics, and the consequent estimation of the lifetime of radioactive isotopes, validated by experimental data obtained from X-ray diagnostics. The simulations are based on the self-consistent solution of the Vlasov–Maxwell equations, while the experimental data are provided by an X-ray pin-hole camera delivering space-resolved measurements of plasma density and temperature, ion species and charge states. The benchmark between simulations and experimental data will allow the estimation of the lepton phase-space density and the resulting variation of the β-decay rate. The results will provide robust input for astrophysical calculations.

Job posting website

http://www.unipg.it

Number of positions

1

Funding body

Università degli Studi di Perugia