PhD Studentships

The Astrophysics Group offers a limited number of fully funded PhD studentships for research projects in astrophysics, leading to a PhD degree from the University of Bristol. Funding sources include, but are not limited to, STFC and the University. Depending on the source of funding, the duration of the studentship ranges from 3.5 to 4 years.

We encourage applications from any suitably-qualified students (usually with a first class or upper second class degree in Physics or a related subject) from the UK or overseas. Our normal recruiting cycle for funded PhD places runs from October through January each academic year. Please check this website during that time for updates on which projects are available. Applications for funded studentships received outside this window will generally not be considered, unless specifically advertised as available.

While the number of funded studentships is necessarily limited, the Astrophysics group may also consider applications from well-qualified self-funded students. If you have a specific area of interest, and it aligns with the research undertaken by a member of staff, please feel free to contact that staff member directly to express your interest. Speculative applications without a clear research topic are unfortunately rarely successful.

We are committed to diversity and inclusivity and providing a supportive environment for our students, and we welcome students from any background who are enthusiastic about research in astrophysics. For all of our PhD studentships, please follow the application process described below.

Available PhD projects

PhD students carry out independent research under the direction of a member of academic staff in one of the group's areas of research interest, and the degree is awarded on the basis of examination of a thesis.

PhD projects are offered based on the interests and expertise of our academics. The projects listed below are available for the coming academic year.

FornaX - the X-ray properties of galaxy clusters in the Euclid deep field (Supervisor: Ben Maughan)

In the project we will combine the power of two major space telescopes - XMM-Newton observing in X-rays, and Euclid observing in optical and near infra-red - to study clusters of galaxies. The FornaX project is conducting one of the deepest ever X-ray surveys, using XMM-Newton to observe a 10 square degree Euclid deep survey field. Euclid will detect clusters of galaxies (gravitationally bound collections of 100s to 1,000s of galaxies) and determine their masses via their gravitational lensing signal. Meanwhile XMM-Newton will observe the X-ray emitting gas that fills the clusters. We will focus on analysing the X-ray data to measure the properties of this gas, in order to validate this remarkable new galaxy cluster sample, and probe the astrophysical effects (such as feedback from active galactic nuclei) that influence the properties of the gas. As part of this project you will join the international FornaX and Euclid collaborations.

This project will require good Python coding skills, a familiarity with (or willingness to learn) advanced statistical techniques, and an enthusiasm to study clusters of galaxies!

Understanding convection on sub-Neptunes (Supervisor: Denis Sergeev)

The majority of discovered exoplanets are smaller than Neptune and larger than Earth, unlike any planetary body in our solar system. The atmospheric dynamics on these sub-Neptunes are not well understood. The aim of this PhD project is to understand the nature of atmospheric convection on sub-Neptunes. We will determine what type of convection is prevalent on sub-Neptunes, how convection interacts with clouds, and if convective mixing has an observable impact that could be detected by modern telescopes. To answer these questions, we will simulate convection in 3D using LFRic, a state-of-the-art non-hydrostatic model developed by the Met Office. Importantly, the student will have the opportunity to shape the direction of the project and bring in their own ideas. We seek an enthusiastic student with a strong interest in exoplanet atmospheres, fluid dynamics or numerical modelling. They should hold a degree in Mathematics, Physics or Natural Sciences or similar; and have some experience in programming and data visualisation (ideally in Python).

Active Galactic Nuclei and their hosts across cosmic time (Supervisor: Sotiria Fotopoulou)

Black holes with masses more than a billion times the mass of the Sun lurk in the heart of most galaxies. During the so-called active phase of accretion, accumulated gas and dust around the black hole shine across the electromagnetic spectrum from the radio to the gamma rays. These sources are called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) or quasars, depending on their luminosity. This project will leverage current and new data from space (Euclid) and ground based (4MOST, WEAVE) observatories. You will develop cutting-edge machine learning methods to estimate physical properties of AGN, investigate the evolution of the population across cosmic time, and compare them to leading galaxy evolution simulations.

How do giant impacts affect compositional variation in planets? (Supervisor: Zoë Leinhardt)

Amongst the thousands of planets that are now known some show surprisingly high densities. A few of these planets may be similar to the planet Mercury, but there is surprising variation amongst some more volatile-rich planets as well. During the late stages of planet formation planets can undergo collisions with each other – giant impacts – that could result in substantial erosion. We will simulate giant impacts using a state-of-the-art smoothed particle hydrodynamics code that accounts for the realistic behaviour of planetary materials. You will use high performance computing clusters to carry out numerical simulations and study the results. In this project you will investigate atmospheric and volatile delivery and loss via giant impacts and examine how these affect compositional variation in the exoplanet population. This project will require good coding skills (e.g. Python or C/C++) or enthusiasm to learn them.

X-ray reverberation modelling of black hole accretion discs (Supervisor: Andy Young)

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are powered by accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole that resides at the centre of almost all galaxies. The accretion disc emission cannot account for the strong X-ray emission detected from these objects. It is thought that there is a "corona" above the disc, in which hot electrons up-scatter optical/UV photons from the disc to X-ray energies. However, the location, size, physical properties, and mechanism that powers the X-ray corona are not currently known. This PhD project will extend our existing numerical models to describe the X-ray spectra and time variability of accretion discs around supermassive black holes. These models will allow extended corona shapes and velocities, realistic disc geometries, and different spacetimes to be investigated. The energy dependent time lags between the continuum emission from the corona and the reprocessed "reflection" spectrum from the disc will be calculated. The goal is to provide an open-source suite of models that the community can use to fit X-ray time lags, to determine the corona and disc geometries.

This PhD opportunity is part of the Time-domain Analysis to study the Life-cycle and Evolution of Supermassive black holes (TALES) EU Doctoral Training Network. There is a trans-national mobility rule: The applicant — at the date of recruitment — should not have resided in the country where the research training takes place for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to recruitment, and not have carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in that country. For refugees under the Geneva Convention (1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol), the refugee procedure (i.e. before refugee status is conferred) will not be counted as ‘period of residence/activity in the country of the beneficiary’. Further details can be found in the associated EURAXESS advertisement.

How to apply for a PhD

To apply for a PhD, please use our online application form, and select “Physics (PhD)” as the programme. At the top of your personal statement, please state clearly that you are applying for a PhD in astrophysics, and state which of the PhD projects above you are interested in (you may list as many as you like). Please use the following format:

I am interested in the following Astrophysics PhD projects:
  - Project number: project title
  - Project number: project title
  - etc
I would/would not like to be considered for other PhD projects if additional funding became available.

If you do not provide this information, your application may not receive full consideration. A research proposal is not required for an astrophysics application, so please upload a single page pdf with "Research proposal not required" to satisfy the submission tool. Anonymity is also not required for an astrophysics application.

Chinese Scholarships

There are additional studentships available for Chinese students, as detailed on the China Scholarship Council page. You must specify that you wish to apply for the China Scholarship Council — University of Bristol Joint Scholarships Programme in your application form. Please contact us before this deadline to discuss your application.