Astronomy
University of York
About the Project Asteroseismology is the study of pulsational and vibrational physics in stars. The recent explosion of data from ground- and space- based facilities has driven new techniques and understanding of the otherwise impenetrable interiors of stars. This has allowed precise determination of key stellar parameters such as interior rotation, energy transport and ages of pulsating stars.
- Location
- York, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Astronomy
Cardiff University
About the Project The Cardiff Astronomy Instrumentation Group (AIG) is one of the world leaders in Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKID) development. These superconducting detectors are the most promising technology for the next generation of millimetre – THz wave detectors.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Astronomy
Heriot-Watt University
About the Project We are seeking to appoint a talented PhD candidate to join the Ultrafast Optics Group at Heriot-Watt by 1 October 2026 and help us to build cutting-edge laser technology for the world’s largest telescope—the ELT—creating ultra-precise “astrocomb” lasers that will enable some of the most exciting science in modern optical astronomy.
- Location
- Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)
Astronomy
Cardiff University
About the Project Current gravitational-wave detectors observe gravitational-wave signals from binary compact objects—black holes and neutron stars—in the final few moments as they inspiral towards a cataclysmic collision.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Astronomy
Cardiff University
About the Project Over half the light ever emitted by stars in the Universe having been absorbed by cosmic dust, and the situation is worse (>90%) when looking at regions where star-formation is occurring. Luckily, the dust re-emits the energy absorbed in the far-infrared/sub-millimetre, and so by observing in these wavelengths we can understand these cold dense regions where stars are born.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Astronomy
Cardiff University
About the Project CONTEXT. Much of the interstellar gas in a galaxy like the Milky Way is in dense molecular clouds. When these clouds enter a spiral arm, they merge to form larger clouds, and are compressed to higher densities. This leads to enhanced rates of star formation, which is why spiral arms are lit up by the radiation from massive stars; massive stars evolve so fast that they are only visible close to where they form.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Astronomy
Cardiff University
About the Project The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) make it possible to obtain high-resolution images of tiny areas of sky. The Euclid Observatory, which was launched in July 2023, will carry out a survey of the sky with the resolution of HST but over most of the sky.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Astronomy
Cardiff University
About the Project 2 year MPhil We don’t know how the planet Venus – Earth's near-twin in size and mass – has evolved so differently. Today, the surface is scorching hot and the skies are full of acid. We don’t know if Venus had a more temperate past, whether there was surface water, how many active volcanoes it has today, or even if there is niche habitat for microscopic life in the clouds. The project will use a dataset from radio and ultraviolet astronomy.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Astronomy
Cardiff University
About the Project CONTEXT. Filaments play a critical role in star formation. There are dense, massive filaments where a large fraction of low- and intermediate-mass stars form, and which also channel interstellar gas into even denser, more massive hubs where high-mass stars form; and there are more diffuse, lighter filaments which feed material onto the denser filaments.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Astronomy
Cardiff University
About the Project High redshift galaxies discovered using submillimetre surveys of the sky (so-called submillimetre galaxies) are likely ancestors of present-day massive early-type galaxies. Thanks to the Herschel Space Observatory, astronomers have discovered many extreme star forming systems at redshifts 3-5 implying enormous gas reservoirs.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only