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Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics Physicist (PhD)
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About the Role
CritPt is a public benchmark of research-level physics challenges, built to test whether frontier AI models can carry out genuine physics research reasoning rather than textbook problem solving. The benchmark paper is arXiv:2509.26574 and we recommend reading it before applying. It will tell you quickly whether this work interests you. We are engaging physicists to work on research-level physics problems in their own subfield. Depending on where your publication record fits, that can mean creating problems, solving them, reviewing completed work, or auditing it. We agree the specific assignment with you once you are matched to an area. This is research-grade work rather than volume work. Whatever you produce has to be complete enough for another specialist in your subfield to follow and verify independently, so written reasoning is part of every assignment.
What You'll Do
- First-order gravity: Einstein-Cartan-Palatini formalism, tetrad and spin-connection variables, spacetime torsion and contorsion decomposition
- Topological terms in gravity: Nieh-Yan topological invariant, gravitational Chern-Simons coupling to the Pontryagin density
- Cosmological perturbation theory: Mukhanov-Sasaki mode equation, primordial curvature power spectrum, slow-roll approximation
- Numerical cosmology: integration of coupled background field equations in modified gravity
- Astroparticle modelling: relativistic beaming and Doppler boosting, photohadronic processes, electromagnetic cascades, one-zone emission models
You're a Good Fit If You
- A PhD in gravitation, cosmology, astroparticle physics or a closely related field. This is a hard requirement. Postdoctoral researchers, research scientists and junior faculty are the strongest fit. Senior PhD students with a strong first-author record are welcome to apply.
- Published work on the specific phenomenon above, not the adjacent one. This is the single most common reason we decline otherwise excellent physicists. Working in modified gravity is not enough if your papers are not on torsion, Nieh-Yan or Chern-Simons terms. Command of the numerical methods is not enough if you have not published on the phenomenon itself.
- A verifiable publication record. Three to five representative papers with arXiv IDs or DOIs, ideally from the last five years. First author strongly preferred. Every paper you list will be checked against the public record.
- Sign-convention discipline. Work in this area turns on tetrad and spin-connection conventions, and we are looking for people who are precise about them.
- Working proficiency with LaTeX, Python, SymPy and Jupyter. Some familiarity with an agentic coding extension in VS Code is useful. Gaps here are acceptable if you declare them honestly.
- English at B2 or above, including written reasoning. A large part of the value you add is how clearly you set out your argument.
- Application steps
- Apply and complete the attached form. Basic information, education, research experience, your method self-attestation, and up to five of the areas above that you are the best fit for. For each area you select, give an arXiv ID or DOI of your own paper as proof, with your author position and the methods it demonstrates. A selection without proof is not scored.
Role Highlights
Pay & Payout
Independent contractor engagement. Apply via the link below - Mercor handles onboarding and pays weekly via Stripe or Wise.
Common Questions
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