Postdoctoral position in geophysical and astrophysical fluid dynamics

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position in numerical fluid dynamics, hosted by the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) in collaboration with the UMR AIM (CEA Saclay). 

The GOLDFINGER project aims to study the dynamics and consequences of double-diffusive convection in geophysical and astrophysical contexts, ranging from planets to neutron stars. Salt-finger convection is a type of double-diffusive instability that occurs in the presence of a stabilizing thermal gradient and a destabilizing compositional gradient. Initially studied in oceanography, this instability is likely to develop in the liquid cores of terrestrial planets like Earth or Mercury, in stars, white dwarfs, and proto-neutron stars (where it forms neutron fingers analogous to oceanic salt fingers). This thermo-compositional convection drives heat and compositional transport, altering the structure and evolution of planets and stars. In proto-neutron stars, neutron fingers may enhance neutrino luminosity, playing a role in supernova explosion mechanism, and could generate intense magnetic fields explaining neutron stars’ surface magnetism. Given the dynamically crucial roles of rotation and magnetic fields in planetary and stellar interiors, the project will explore their impact on salt-finger convection in spherical geometry. 

Candidates must hold a PhD in physics or astrophysics, with solid background in fluid dynamics and high-performance computing. 

The successful candidate will work in collaboration with A. Fournier and T. Gastine at IPGP, and J. Guilet and R. Raynaud at AIM. He/she will perform 3D global spherical simulations of salt-finger convection using the open-source MagIC code.