There are two open PhD positions in our group. Both projects are targeting cold, state-controlled electron transfer reactions in the gas phase, at energies reaching as low as 20 mK above absolute zero. We use electric and magnetic fields to control the motion of polar molecules and paramagnetic particles prior to the reaction. These fields are also used to prepare a sample of reactants with controlled populations in specific states, such that we can investigate the contribution of individual states to the total reactivity.
We then further manipulate the so-obtained sample, again using electric or magnetic fields, to fix the orientation of a reactant in space, giving access to so-called stereodynamics, i.e. the dependance of reactivities on the relative orientation of the reactants.
