NORDITA was founded in 1957 as a Nordic institute in theoretical (atomic) physics on the premises of the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University and is since 2006 in Stockholm under the auspices of Stockholm University (SU) and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). NORDITA is located at the AlbaNova University Center, situated in the immediate vicinity of the two universities.
There will be one or two PhD openings starting autumn 2026. The PhD positions will be carried out under the joint supervision of Professors Axel Brandenburg and Chiara Caprini, and the PhD students will be affiliated at Nordita at Stockholm University. This is part of a joint effort within the ERC Synergy Grant COSMOMAG (2026-2032) with Andrii Neronov (Université Paris Cité and EPFL Lausanne), Chiara Caprini (CERN and U Geneva), and Franco Vazza (U Bologna). Frequent visits to CERN and to the other nodes of COSMOMAG are envisaged for discussions and joint coordination of the PhD work.
The COSMOMAG project aims at pinning down the origin of cosmological magnetic fields by developing a unified framework tackling the problem from the initial conditions in the early universe up to observations in the present universe: we will study the magnetic field generation in the early universe, use numerical methods to evolve them throughout the universe and predict observable signatures today, to be tested mainly via gamma-ray, radio and gravitational waves observations. In particular, one of the PhD students will focus on the early universe dynamics and the other on the dynamics during the recombination era. The phenomenology of magnetic field decay is still debated, and to firmly establish the correct decay laws, numerical simulations are essential. In this context, we will mainly use the Pencil Code to simulate the magnetic field evolution from generation to recombination, complemented with analytical understanding to interpret the simulation results.
If this position interests you, please submit an application containing your CV, the courses that you followed and grades, and one or two letters from senior supervisors (for example from your master project supervisor).
The PhD projects will address a number of topics including
The successful candidate will work under the main supervision of Professor Axel Brandenburg (https://axelbrandenburg.github.io/) at Nordita. The PhD student working within this project will be formally enrolled at Stockholm University within the Department of Astronomy, which is also part of the Oskar Klein Centre, and will have office space at Nordita. An extension to a fifth year is possible if the student takes up teaching or other duties at the department.
Qualifications. To be eligible for the PhD position you will need to have a completed Master's exam in physics or astronomy at the starting date. Other science degrees and other types of degrees such as a Swedish civil engineering degree or a Swedish magister degree, may also make you eligible.
Employment. The successful candidate will be supported as a PhD candidate at Nordita for 4 years. The position will start in the fall of 2026, or some other date agreed upon.
Application. The application should include a curriculum vitae together including a list of publications, 2 letters of recommendation, a verified list of courses with grades and a motivation why the applicant wants to pursue studies for a PhD at Nordita. The application deadline is 16 March 2026. The application should be filed though our web interface.
Nordita
AlbaNova University Center
Attn: Axel Brandenburg
Hannes Alfvéns väg 12
10691 Stockholm
Sweden