Closed Job Vacancy · 2018

Project Research Fellow at NAOJ

Postdoctoral Position on High-Mass Star Formation (ALMA-IMF)

Applications are invited for a Project Research Fellow, postdoctoral position, at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) to work with Patricio Sanhueza, funded by KAKENHI, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research.

For details of the KAKENHI, see: KAKENHI project page

The Project Research Fellow will be based in ALMA Japan, a division of the NAOJ Chile Observatory at Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan.

Research Topics

The successful candidate will be fully dedicated to science and will mostly work on the first ALMA large program focused on high-mass star formation, ALMA-IMF. Candidates with experience or interest in the following topics will have priority:

  1. Dust continuum emission and algorithms to define or extract information from cores.
  2. Molecular outflows.
  3. Filaments and large-scale inflows.
  4. Hot cores, complex molecules, chemistry, and recombination lines.
  5. Interferometry, ideally with experience using ALMA data and CASA.
  6. Magnetic fields.

Employment Conditions

The Project Research Fellow is a full-time position, with 38 hours and 45 minutes of working hours per week, employed under the annual salary system of NINS.

  • Monthly salary: 350,000 JPY.
  • Commuting expenses will be compensated.
  • The appointment is for one year and is non-renewable.
  • The starting date is negotiable, but preferably as soon as possible from October 1, 2018.
  • Travel expenses for a new assignment at NAOJ will be covered based on NINS regulations.
  • Travel expenses may be available for conferences and visits to other ALMA-IMF members.
  • The fellow may apply for government housing during the appointment at NAOJ.
  • Publication charges may be provided by NAOJ under its rules.

This is a “Contingent on Funding” appointment. The continuation of employment is based on the availability of external funding sources.

Qualifications

The candidate must have a PhD degree in Astronomy, or an equivalent degree in a relevant field, or be expected to obtain the PhD by the time of appointment.

Application Materials

Interested candidates should submit the following materials:

  1. Cover letter, one page. Please indicate a possible starting date and the names of the recommenders.
  2. Curriculum vitae.
  3. Publication list, including the names of all authors.
  4. Summary of past research activities.
  5. Statement of research interests, mostly focused on ALMA-IMF.
  6. Two recommendation letters, sent directly by the recommenders.

Items 4 and 5 combined should not be longer than four pages. Except for the recommendation letters, please combine all documents into a single PDF file.

Please send the application file to: patricio.sanhueza@nao.ac.jp

Recommendation letters must be sent directly to: patricio.sanhueza@nao.ac.jp before the deadline.

Application deadline: 23:00 JST, June 29, 2018.

Further Information

For further information and inquiries, please contact Patricio Sanhueza.

Application documents will be used only for the purpose of selecting candidates for this position. Documents submitted by applicants other than the successful candidate will be discarded.

NAOJ promotes equal opportunities for women in the workplace: Equal opportunity information

Additional Information about ALMA-IMF

Abstract

Studying massive protoclusters is essential for investigating the origin of the IMF in the typical yet extreme environments where massive stars are born.

Recent ALMA imaging of a young massive protocluster revealed the first definitive case of a core mass function, CMF, whose shape is different from the IMF. In contrast, the CMF shape in more evolved but still embedded massive clusters more closely resembles the IMF. This raises the possibility of CMF evolution with time.

The project aims to determine when and through which physical processes the CMF of massive protoclusters is reconciled with the canonical IMF.

Observational Setup

Fifteen massive protoclusters located between 2 and 5.5 kpc will be mosaiced at angular resolutions between 0.4″ and 1″, depending on the distance. High-quality images from emission at large scales will be produced by combining two 12 m array configurations with ACA, including the 7 m array and total power.

Spectral Setup

  • Continuum emission at 1 and 3 mm.
  • Outflow tracers such as CO and SiO.
  • Large-scale structure tracers such as C18O and N2H+.
  • Deuterated molecules: N2D+, DCO+, and DCN.
  • The H41α recombination line.
  • Hot core tracers: CH3OH, CH3CN, and CH3CCH, among other lines.

ALMA-IMF Team at NAOJ

  • Fumitaka Nakamura
  • Ken'ichi Tatematsu
  • Xing Lu
  • Andres Guzman

ALMA-IMF Management Team

Frederique Motte (EU), Adam Ginsburg (NA), Patricio Sanhueza (EA), Fabien Louvet.