Basic Information

• Job Title: Project Researcher, Project Research Fellow, one position.
• Division: ALMA Project. Possible transfer to a different department in NAOJ after August 31, 2024.
• Work Location: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo.
• Area of Expertise: Astronomy and related fields.

Job Description

The successful candidate will be fully dedicated to science and will work on observations of dust, spectral lines, and magnetic fields in high-mass star-forming regions using existing ALMA data at relatively low resolution, 0.3″, about 500–1000 au, and high resolution, 0.06″, about 100–200 au.

Applicants with experience running star-formation simulations or knowledge analyzing simulated data are also welcome to apply.

Candidates with experience or interest in the following topics will have priority:

1. Dust continuum emission.
2. Magnetic fields.
3. Polarization from both dust and spectral lines.
4. Molecular outflows.
5. Filaments and large-scale inflows.
6. Hot cores, complex molecules, chemistry, and recombination lines.
7. Interferometry, ideally with experience using ALMA data and CASA.
8. Analyzing data from simulations and comparison with observations.

Terms of Appointment

The successful candidate is expected to start the job as early as reasonably possible after the job offer has been accepted.

The term of employment will be two years and eight months if the fellow starts the position on August 1, 2023, including a probation period of six months. The end of the contract must be March 31, 2026.

1. If the successful candidate had been employed by the National Institutes of Natural Sciences within six months retroactively from the start date, the term will be set so that the total employment period does not exceed ten years.
2. If the successful candidate had been employed as an NAOJ Project Researcher, including Project Research Fellow, or a Researcher, Part-time Contract Employee, the term will be set so that the total accumulated period of employment does not exceed five years.
3. Annual performance review will be conducted.

Qualifications

1. The applicant must have a PhD degree or be expected to have it by the start date.
2. The applicant must be proficient in spoken and written English. Knowledge of Japanese is advantageous but not required.
3. The applicant must be proficient in Python and comfortable working in a Linux environment.

Labor Conditions

• Work Type: Discretionary Labor System for Professional Work.
• Standard Work Hours: 38.75 hours per week, from 8:30 to 17:15 with a one-hour intermission.
• Holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, New Year holidays, paid days off, annual leave, and summer holidays.
• Social Insurance: MEXT Mutual Aid Association, Employees' Pension Insurance, Employment Insurance, and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance.
• Salary: 350,000 JPY per month.
• Commuting Expenses: Up to 55,000 JPY per month.
• Retirement Allowance: Not provided.
• Day-care Center: Available for children from 57 days old, depending on availability. Childcare staff does not provide English support.
• Smoking Policy: Smoking is prohibited on the premises, excluding designated outdoor smoking areas.
• Travel and Relocation: Travel and relocation costs to NAOJ will be covered, subject to NINS travel regulations.
• Research Support: Travel expenses and working supplies, such as a computer and external hard drives, will be covered.

Selection Process

A candidate will be selected through screening of application documents and an interview, either face-to-face or online. The expense for the interview will not be covered by NAOJ.

Required Application Documents

Applicants should prepare the following documents in English:

1. Cover letter, one page. Please indicate a possible starting date and the names of the recommenders.
2. Curriculum vitae.
3. Publication list, with refereed and non-refereed papers separated.
4. Research statement, not to exceed four pages. This should include both a summary of past research activities and a statement of research interests, mostly focused on star formation research using ALMA data.
5. Two reference letters. Applicants should ask their references to upload the letters directly before the application deadline.

Application deadline: May 12, 2023, 12:00 noon, Japan Standard Time.

Submission

Applicants are required to apply via the NAOJ Nextcloud on the web.

1. Please access the following URL for registration:
   https://forms.office.com/r/h6E0Hd3PUy
2. After submitting the registration form, applicants will receive an email showing the URLs for uploading application documents and reference letters.
3. Please ask your references to upload their letters via the reference-letter URL.
4. Please upload the application documents via the application-document URL. These files must be in PDF format, with a maximum of 50 MB each, 100 MB in total, and at most 10 files.

Contacts

For questions related to the job description, please contact:

Patricio Sanhueza, ALMA Project, NAOJ
E-mail: patricio.sanhueza_AT_nao.ac.jp, replace _AT_ with @

Additional information on the science project can be found at:
http://www2.nao.ac.jp/~patricio/index.html

For questions related to other items, please contact:
E-mail: job12-pjt-researcher2_AT_nao.ac.jp, replace _AT_ with @

Remarks

• Information submitted in application documents will be used only for the selection process and for necessary contact related to the selection.
• Once the selection process is complete, NAOJ will securely dispose of all application documents and personal information, except those submitted by the successful candidate.
• Project researchers are eligible to apply for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, KAKENHI.
• NAOJ is committed to equal employment opportunity. If two candidates are deemed equal in performance evaluation, NAOJ will take positive action to employ women.

For details, see: https://www2.nao.ac.jp/~open-info/gender-equality/en/

Name of recruiter:
Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Additional Information about the Possible Research

The main goal of the project is to understand how the magnetic field affects the formation of high-mass stars. This goal can be approached from different angles using the available observations.

At about 0.3″ angular resolution, continuum and line polarization can reveal the magnetic field. Molecular line emission, such as H13CO+ and CS, can show velocity gradients, including streamers and accretion flows, which help to understand the dynamics of the systems and the magnetic field morphology.

Molecular outflows can be traced using SiO, SO, CH3OH, C18O, 13CO, CS, and other lines. The direction and morphology of the outflows can also be important for interpreting the magnetic field morphology.

Chemistry can be used to define possible evolutionary sequences at the core scale and to search for correlations with the magnetic field.

At 0.06″ resolution, without full-Stokes observations, the fragmentation level of the 0.3″ cores can be studied. The dependence of fragmentation on the magnetic field at lower resolution is of great interest.

Several hot-core tracers are detected at high angular resolution. These tracers can help study the disk population in high-mass star-forming regions and their possible relation to the magnetic field.

Experience connecting observations with simulations is welcome. This topic can be carried out independently or with collaborators who have expertise in the area.