Summary

The Ghent University quantum group, lead by professors Frank Verstraete and Jutho Haegeman, are looking to hire one or more PhD students and/or postdoctoral fellows in the context of the ERQUAF project. We are looking for candidates who are interested in the application of entanglement methods —and in particular tensor networks— in the context of theoretical condensed matter physics, quantum field theory and holography.

Extended description

Despite the exponential increase of the quantum many body Hilbert space, insights from entanglement theory and quantum information theory have led to the growing belief that interesting physical states live in a tiny corner that is efficiently parameterised by tensor network states. Originally conceived as the variational ansatz underlying the highly successful Density Matrix Renormalization Group of Steve White, tensor networks are now arising as a universal language in all disciplines of contemporary physics, ranging from atomic and condensed matter physics to high energy physics and gravity.

In the context of the ERC project ERQUAF —entanglement and renormalization for quantum fields— we are conducting research to extend the synergy between tensor networks and field theories. Read more here.

The candidate

Applicants should have an excellent master degree in Physics, Applied Mathematics or Engineering, and (in the case of PostDoc applications) a PhD in theoretical or computational physics. The ideal candidate should have good analytical and numerical skills and be highly motivated.

For inquiries, please send your curriculum vitae and a brief research statement to “jutho [dot] haegeman [at] ugent [dot] be” or by clicking the contact button below. Candidates should also arrange for letters of recommendation to be submitted to “jutho [dot] haegeman [at] ugent [dot] be” from two scientists familiar with their work. Candidates may also wish to include selected preprints or reprints of articles they have written, and mention previous experience in any relevant research field.