NASA Postdoctoral Program - Astrophysics: Theoretical Cosmic-Ray Astrophysics

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology. This specific opportunity focuses on theoretical cosmic-ray research in the Laboratory for High-Energy Astrophysics at Goddard Space Flight Center. Research centers on cosmic rays, which make up a plasma of relativistic particles that pervade the galaxy and constitute a considerable fraction of its energy density. The work involves studying the source material of cosmic rays, the mechanisms that accelerate the particles, and how particles propagate through the galaxy from their sources to Earth. Current research includes shock acceleration theories, cosmic-ray propagation models through the galaxy, the role of cosmic rays in the origin of light elements Li, Be, and P, and understanding the cosmic-ray 'knee,' a break in the cosmic ray spectrum at about 3 X 10^15 eV. The fellowship provides postdoctoral researchers with the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research using developed Monte Carlo computer codes to study acceleration processes by plasma shocks and mathematical models to describe how charged particles move through randomly disordered magnetic fields.