Long Period Transients with the GMRT

The National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCRA-TIFR), at Pune, India, is seeking a post-doctoral fellow to work with Professor Jayanta Roy and collaborators on the Long-period transIents in GMRT arcHival daTa (LIGHT) project.

Long-Period Transients (LPTs) are a recently identified class of radio sources that exhibit periodic or quasi-periodic emission on unusually long timescales (minutes to hours) challenging standard emission models for neutron stars and white dwarfs. The GMRT archive spans more than two decades of low-frequency observations, with sufficient time resolution and sensitivity to detect such signals. The LIGHT team has developed a semi-automated pipeline to search for LPTs in archival GMRT imaging data and is also exploring GMRT’s discovery potential through targeted surveys. With the telescope’s high sensitivity at low frequencies, the team aims to constrain the LPT luminosity function and advance understanding of their nature and population statistics.

The postdoctoral fellow will work with the LIGHT team to detect LPTs with the GMRT. The team plans to extend the total-intensity detection pipeline to full-Stokes polarisation to enable studies of progenitor models, emission mechanisms and to constrain source geometry and magnetospheres. Prior experience in time-domain astronomy and radio data processing will be advantageous.

Research activities at NCRA-TIFR  are centred on low-frequency radio astronomy, with faculty members pursuing research in diverse areas of astrophysics (see http://www.ncra.tifr.res.in). NCRA-TIFR operates two large observational facilities, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and the Ooty Radio Telescope.

Applications containing a curriculum vitae, a research plan, and the names and e-mail addresses of three or more referees should be sent to the Dean, NCRA-TIFR Faculty, at the e-mail address dean_nf@ncra.tifr.res.in, by October 31, 2025. Applicants should also request their referees to send in recommendation letters by the same deadline. All enquiries should also be made to this e-mail address. All applicants will automatically be considered for all available Post-Doctoral Fellowships at NCRA-TIFR.

The monthly salary of Post-Doctoral Fellows at NCRA-TIFR depends on experience after the doctoral degree. Candidates are required to have at least a provisional Ph.D. degree when taking up the position. For candidates who have received their doctoral degrees, the monthly salary ranges from INR 58,000 to INR 67,000, depending on experience. Post-doctoral fellows are also entitled to a contingency grant of INR 60,000 per year. All project post-doctoral positions are tenable for a maximum of 3 years, with continuations subject to a yearly review.

Post-doctoral Fellows at NCRA-TIFR are provided a travel grant of INR 3,00,000 over the course of the fellowship to enable them to travel for international conferences or for research collaborations. They are also entitled to a house rent allowance, and medical coverage under NCRA-TIFR's medical scheme.