Jefferson Lab is currently seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to be involved in the activities of Hall B.

The Hall B physics program covers a broad range of topics, the central focus being the three-dimensional imaging of the quark structure of the nucleon, one of the flagships of the Jefferson Lab 12 GeV scientific program. Other topics include experiments to measure the spectrum of excited states of the nucleon and their transition form factors, meson spectroscopy and a search for exotic states, the characterization of nucleon-nucleon correlations in nuclear matter, and a search for physics beyond the Standard Model.

CLAS12, a modern large-acceptance spectrometer designed to withstand high luminosity operation with electron beams up to 10³⁵ cm^-2s^-1, is being used as the main detector in Hall B. The spectrometer allows the full reconstruction and characterization of nuclear reactions with multiple particles in the final state. It is instrumented with specialized tracking and particle identification systems, some of which are on the cutting edge of technology. Other dedicated detectors optimized for specific measurements, such as the proton charge radius and detection of physics beyond the Standard Model, extend the Hall B rich physics program.

The high-luminosity operations and the growing demands of experiments require constant improvements of operational characteristics, upgrades to the detectors, and the calibration and data reconstruction software (including AI-supported algorithms).

Working under the supervision of the Hall B staff scientists, the incumbent will be involved in:

1. Conducting an original research project within the Hall B physics program;
2. Designing and implementing simulation and reconstruction algorithms for new detectors and upgrades of the current equipment;
3. Supporting the development of existing reconstruction and calibration tools (tracking, particle identification, etc.);
4. Supporting the development of a high-level data analysis framework;
5. Supporting Hall B users in data calibration and analysis;
6. Documenting activities and providing regular updates to Hall B and CLAS12 leadership.

Position requirements

• Ph.D. degree in nuclear or particle physics;
• Up-to-date knowledge in related scientific data collection, data management, and data analysis concepts;
• Good programming skills (JAVA/Python/C++/…);
• Knowledge or interest in high energy physics and/or nuclear physics detector simulation tools;
• Knowledge or interest in AI techniques;
• Knowledge or interest in charged particle tracking;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to be able to interact effectively with a diverse group of scientists;
• Self-motivated and able to work in a team environment.