[School of Natural Sciences PhD Scholarships] Novel THz-driven accelerators for high energy particle physics

About the project

About the Project The acceleration of electrons has had intense interest in the last decade, with the effort to drive low-energy electrons to the relativistic regime for development of compact all-THz-powered light sources and electron diffraction. This started with demonstration of 1 keV energy gain with a field of 300 MeV/m and then the STEAM device showed the feasibility of Terahertz-based electron accelerators with compact beams and 30 keV energy gain. This energy gain was soon pushed to 70 keV with a 200 MeV/m field. Recently we showed through modelling that tapered waveguides can provide control of electron beam quality (emittance, energy spread) for beams in this non-relativistic regime, opening the door to multi-MeV cascaded linacs. Recent work in our group has opened the door to MeV-scale high-quality beams. For relativistic electrons we showed two years ago record THz-driven linear acceleration of relativistic 35.5 MeV, 20-100 pC electron beams, and advanced manipulation of the bunch to show de-chirping and the modulation necessary for the generation of micro-bunches. At CLARA, we have recently demonstrated a more modest electron energy gain of a relativistic energy but demonstrated the key advances of timing jitter suppression in the THz cavities, beam quality preservation and the concept of THz diagnostics. We showed beam quality preservation is possible in the THz acceleration process for technology applications (e.g. light sources, electron diffraction) and on the use of adiabatic structures to attain gradients up to 100 MeV/m from THz acceleration, aiming for 300 keV energy gain with 1 fC of charge. With the roadmap to MeV-scale clear, the time is now right to solve the problems inherent in using this technology to generate high energy and high luminosity bunches for particle physics applications. The aim of this PhD project is to demonstrate that a THz-driven high energy (GeV-scale) and high-quality beam is possible using very high gradient (up to GeV/m scale) THz-driven structure to manipulate and control the beam. The student will explore the dynamics of the high gradient beam line, moving from non-relativistic energies to relativistic energies, and exploiting novel beam acceleration techniques such as Thz-driven resonant structures to show what a THz-driven collider would look like. This project is expected to start in September 2027. Before you apply: We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisors for this project before you apply. How to apply: To be considered for this project you must complete a formal application through our online application portal. If you already have an applicant account this link will directly open an application for PhD School of Natural Sciences Scholarships . If you don’t already have an applicant account, please follow the instructions here . When applying, please specify the full title and supervisor/s of the project, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees. You must also upload a Supporting Statement describing your motivation to apply to the project, your CV and transcripts of awarded and in-progress university qualifications . Please note late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Equality, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester and central to all our activities. A diverse research community strengthens creativity, productivity and quality, while increasing the societal and economic impact of our work. We welcome applicants from all career paths, backgrounds and sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation or transgender status. We welcome applications from candidates returning to study after a career break or experience in other roles. Flexible study arrangements may be available, including part-time study at 50%, 60% or 80%, subject to the requirements of the project and funder. Eligibility : The standard academic entry requirement for this PhD is an upper second-class (2:1) honours degree in Physics (or international equivalent) OR any upper-second class (2:1) honours degree and a Master’s degree at merit in Physics (or international equivalent). This project will remain open until filled. If your application is submitted by 1 st November 2026, you can expect a decision by 18 th December 2026. If your application is submitted by 15 th January 2027, you can expect a decision by 30 th March 2027. Self or externally funded students can also be considered for this project. FSESoNS

Research areas