PhD position in Precision Casimir-Polder and cavity QED experiments

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description PhD position, MSCA-DN funding. Atomic gases (hot atoms) provide powerful and elegant tools for fundamental physics and for quantum sensing of electromagnetic fields. The SAI group at USPN has developed unique precision spectroscopic techniques to probe hot atomic vapors at nanometric distances from surfaces, enabling experimental tests of thermal effects in Casimir–Polder (CP) interactions, a long-elusive prediction of QED [1,2]. Extending these approaches to molecular physics is a fascinating prospect. Molecules possess a rich internal structure and ultra-narrow transitions, offering new opportunities for fundamental physics studies. The SAI group has recently extended its nanoscale spectroscopy techniques to molecular gases, pioneering precision spectroscopy in molecular thin cells [3,4]. The use of molecular rovibrational transitions opens new perspectives for photonic platforms that have traditionally relied on dielectric materials such as glass or silicon nitride. In particular, operation in the near- and mid-infrared enables the use of silicon for thin-cell (nanocell) fabrication and the development of more complex nanophotonic structures, particularly well suited for QED experiments. A major objective of this PhD project will be the fabrication of nanocells for precision measurements of molecule–surface interactions. Such interactions are of fundamental importance in physical