If you are a student in Helsinki and want to pursue a bachelor's or master's thesis with us, you should contact Kimmo or Matti or preferably both via email. You can suggest any topic or idea you'd like for the thesis, but below we also list some possible topics for inspiration.
Master's thesis topics
- Defect creation in cryogenic solid state detectors. This work involves numerical simulations of the detector materials, using e.g. molecular dynamics or density functional theory. The goal is to understand how the atomic lattice responds to the low energy nuclear recoils and how this affects the possible dark matter signal.
- NaI quenching factor measurement data analysis. Several direct detection experiments utilize NaI scintillators. The nuclear recoil energy calibration of these experiments requires knowledge of the so called quenching factor of the scintillator. The COSINUS and ANAIS collaborations have both performed measurements of the NaI quenching factor. In this master's project you will join a team to perform a joint analysis of these two data sets.
- Particle physics models for dark matter. If dark matter is constituted by a new type of elementary particle, extensions of the Standard Model of elementary particles and their interactions is needed. In addition to dark matter candidates these typically have other implications for the physics of the early universe such as phase transitions potentially contributing to the stochastic gravitational wave background.
Examples of theses completed in the ParticleCosmo-group
- Hanna Lempiäinen: Vector dark matter as an SU(2) extension of the Standard Model.
- Lotta Poltto: Singlet fermion dark matter.
- Topi Sirkiä: Direct detection of axions and axion-like particles.
- Aula Al-Adulrazzaq: Direct detection of light dark matter
- Arik Mozejko: Effects of Crystal Defects in Phonon based Dark Matter Detection
- Aku Polus: Hubble tension and dark electromagnetism
- Sebastian Sassi: Dark Matter Via Kinetic Mixing
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Kalle Ala-Mattinen: Non-thermal dark matter from particle decays
Bachelor's thesis topics
Most of the items given above as Master's thesis topics can also be selected for a bachelor's thesis, with a more limited scope.