Calculation of X-ray Magneto-Chiral Dichroism (M/F)

CNRS - National Center for Scientific Research; France; On-site; EUR 42,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

CNRS - National Center for Scientific Research in France is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to calculate XMChD responses for chiral systems studied within the LUMINESS project. The position involves applying established XMCh sum rules and integrating results with XNLD/XNCD/XMCD frameworks.

The candidate will use FDMNES, Quantum Espresso and QUANTY, contribute to publications, and participate in ESRF @ ID12 experiments.

Qualifications

• Strong background in solid-state physics and magnetism.
• Familiarity with synchrotron radiation techniques.
• Able to learn new codes and methods.

Responsibilities

• Compute XMChD responses for chiral systems.
• Apply XMCh sum rules to spectral data.
• Publish findings and present results at meetings.
• Collaborate with ESRF ID12 and IMPMC/MIMABADI teams.

Skills

Solid-state physics

Magnetism

Synchrotron radiation knowledge

Autonomy

Teamwork

Tools

FDMNES

Quantum Espresso

QUANTY

Job description

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie Research Field Physics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 23 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 4 Jan 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The IMPMC specializes in the calculation of X-ray absorption cross sections and related dichroics, using either mono-electronic DFT approaches in real or reciprocal space, or multi-electronic approaches based on the ligand field model. These calculations allow us to obtain information such as the orientation of molecules deposited on surfaces (X-ray Natural Linear Dichroism or XNLD), the crystal field parameters acting on specific ions, the quadrupole moments of the electronic distribution, the chirality (X-ray Natural Circular Dichroism or XNCD) as well as the orientation of magnetic spin and orbit moments (X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism or XMCD).
The researcher in post-doctoral internship will have to calculate the XMChD response of chiral systems experimentally studied within the LUMINESS project. This will require combining all the elements used for XNLD, XNCD and XMCD calculations.
Although our team already has all the fundamental ingredients that we helped to forge, the XMChD response has never been calculated until now; indeed, XMChD signals are at least an order of magnitude smaller than XNCD signals.
In addition to the calculation of the XMChD cross-sections, the post-doctoral researcher must apply the sum rules linking the integral of the XMChD signals to the orbital angular momentum anapole. Although known for some time, these sum rules will be implemented here in a quantitative way and compared to experimental results.

The researcher will mainly need to:

• apply the already existing codes (FDMNES for real space DFT, Quantum Espresso for reciprocal space DFT, QUANTY for ligand field multiplets) to calculate the spectral signatures of XMChD;
• apply XMCh sum rules;
• write articles about previous calculation activities.

The researcher will also have to participate in the XMChD experiments on the ESRF's ID12 line, which is currently the only line to have measured XMChD signals.

Most of the work will take place at the IMPMC (Paris 5e). There could also be one or two weeks of work in Grenoble on the ID12 line of the ESRF for the collection of XMChD measurements. The researcher will be integrated into the MIMABADI team (mineralogy and magnetism of low dimensionality) of the IMPMC with also a strong connection with the TQM team (quantum theory of materials). The IMPMC people involved in this project are: Ph. Sainctvait, A. Juhin, M.-A. Arrio, Ch. Brouder.

For the scientific part, the researcher is expected to have a solid background in solid-state physics, particularly with regard to magnetism, and knowledge of experimental measurements on synchrotron radiation, shows a strong desire to simulate experimental results. Prior experience in this area is not necessarily expected, but it will require a strong appetite to learn. Knowledge of spoken and written English is essential. A strong scientific autonomy is also expected. Since the post-doctoral internship project is integrated into the LUMINESS project of the PEPR LUMA, the researcher is expected to have strong interpersonal skills and strong teamwork skills.