The Astronomical Journal (Jan 2023)
A Search for Technosignatures Around 11,680 Stars with the Green Bank Telescope at 1.15–1.73 GHz
- Jean-Luc Margot,
- Megan G. Li,
- Pavlo Pinchuk,
- Nathan Myhrvold,
- Larry Lesyna,
- Lea E. Alcantara,
- Megan T. Andrakin,
- Jeth Arunseangroj,
- Damien S. Baclet,
- Madison H. Belk,
- Zerxes R. Bhadha,
- Nicholas W. Brandis,
- Robert E. Carey,
- Harrison P. Cassar,
- Sai S. Chava,
- Calvin Chen,
- James Chen,
- Kellen T. Cheng,
- Alessia Cimbri,
- Benjamin Cloutier,
- Jordan A. Combitsis,
- Kelly L. Couvrette,
- Brandon P. Coy,
- Kyle W. Davis,
- Antoine F. Delcayre,
- Michelle R. Du,
- Sarah E. Feil,
- Danning Fu,
- Travis J. Gilmore,
- Emery Grahill-Bland,
- Laura M. Iglesias,
- Zoe Juneau,
- Anthony G. Karapetian,
- George Karfakis,
- Christopher T. Lambert,
- Eric A. Lazbin,
- Jian H. Li,
- Zhuofu (Chester) Li,
- Nicholas M. Liskij,
- Anthony V. Lopilato,
- Darren J. Lu,
- Detao Ma,
- Vedant Mathur,
- Mary H. Minasyan,
- Maxwell K. Muller,
- Mark T. Nasielski,
- Janice T. Nguyen,
- Lorraine M. Nicholson,
- Samantha Niemoeller,
- Divij Ohri,
- Atharva U. Padhye,
- Supreethi V. Penmetcha,
- Yugantar Prakash,
- Xinyi (Cindy) Qi,
- Liam Rindt,
- Vedant Sahu,
- Joshua A. Scally,
- Zefyr Scott,
- Trevor J. Seddon,
- Lara-Lynn V. Shohet,
- Anchal Sinha,
- Anthony E. Sinigiani,
- Jiuxu Song,
- Spencer M. Stice,
- Nadine M. Tabucol,
- Andria Uplisashvili,
- Krishna Vanga,
- Amaury G. Vazquez,
- George Vetushko,
- Valeria Villa,
- Maria Vincent,
- Ian J. Waasdorp,
- Ian B. Wagaman,
- Amanda Wang,
- Jade C. Wight,
- Ella Wong,
- Natsuko Yamaguchi,
- Zijin Zhang,
- Junyang Zhao,
- Ryan S. Lynch
Affiliations
- Jean-Luc Margot
- ORCiD
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Megan G. Li
- ORCiD
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Pavlo Pinchuk
- ORCiD
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory , Golden, CO 80401, USA
- Nathan Myhrvold
- ORCiD
- Intellectual Ventures , 3150 139th Avenue SE, Bellevue, WA 98005, USA
- Larry Lesyna
- ORCiD
- LXL Technology , Las Vegas, NV 89148, USA
- Lea E. Alcantara
- UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Megan T. Andrakin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Jeth Arunseangroj
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Damien S. Baclet
- Department of Mathematics, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Madison H. Belk
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Zerxes R. Bhadha
- Department of Public Affairs, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Nicholas W. Brandis
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Robert E. Carey
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Harrison P. Cassar
- Department of Computer Science, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Sai S. Chava
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Calvin Chen
- Department of Mathematics, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- James Chen
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Kellen T. Cheng
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Alessia Cimbri
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Benjamin Cloutier
- Department of Mathematics, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Jordan A. Combitsis
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Kelly L. Couvrette
- Department of Materials Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Brandon P. Coy
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Kyle W. Davis
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Antoine F. Delcayre
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Michelle R. Du
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Sarah E. Feil
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Danning Fu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Travis J. Gilmore
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Emery Grahill-Bland
- UCLA College of Letters and Science, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Laura M. Iglesias
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Zoe Juneau
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Anthony G. Karapetian
- Department of Computer Science, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- George Karfakis
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Christopher T. Lambert
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Eric A. Lazbin
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Jian H. Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Zhuofu (Chester) Li
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Nicholas M. Liskij
- Department of Mathematics, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Anthony V. Lopilato
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Darren J. Lu
- Department of Computer Science, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Detao Ma
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Vedant Mathur
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Mary H. Minasyan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Maxwell K. Muller
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Mark T. Nasielski
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Janice T. Nguyen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Lorraine M. Nicholson
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Samantha Niemoeller
- Department of Computer Science, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Divij Ohri
- Department of Computer Science, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Atharva U. Padhye
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Supreethi V. Penmetcha
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Yugantar Prakash
- Department of Mathematics, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Xinyi (Cindy) Qi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Liam Rindt
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Vedant Sahu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Joshua A. Scally
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Zefyr Scott
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Trevor J. Seddon
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Lara-Lynn V. Shohet
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Anchal Sinha
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Anthony E. Sinigiani
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Jiuxu Song
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Spencer M. Stice
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Nadine M. Tabucol
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Andria Uplisashvili
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Krishna Vanga
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Amaury G. Vazquez
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- George Vetushko
- Department of Neuroscience, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Valeria Villa
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Maria Vincent
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Ian J. Waasdorp
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Ian B. Wagaman
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Amanda Wang
- Department of Computer Science, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Jade C. Wight
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Ella Wong
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Natsuko Yamaguchi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Zijin Zhang
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA ; [email protected]
- Junyang Zhao
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California , Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Ryan S. Lynch
- ORCiD
- Green Bank Observatory , P.O. Box 2, Green Bank, WV 24494, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acfda4
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 166,
no. 5
p. 206
Abstract
We conducted a search for narrowband radio signals over four observing sessions in 2020–2023 with the L -band receiver (1.15–1.73 GHz) of the 100 m diameter Green Bank Telescope. We pointed the telescope in the directions of 62 TESS Objects of Interest, capturing radio emissions from a total of ∼11,680 stars and planetary systems in the ∼9′ beam of the telescope. All detections were either automatically rejected or visually inspected and confirmed to be of anthropogenic nature. We also quantified the end-to-end efficiency of radio SETI pipelines with a signal injection and recovery analysis. The UCLA SETI pipeline recovers 94.0% of the injected signals over the usable frequency range of the receiver and 98.7% of the injections when regions of dense radio frequency interference are excluded. In another pipeline that uses incoherent sums of 51 consecutive spectra, the recovery rate is ∼15 times smaller at ∼6%. The pipeline efficiency affects calculations of transmitter prevalence and SETI search volume. Accordingly, we developed an improved Drake figure of merit and a formalism to place upper limits on transmitter prevalence that take the pipeline efficiency and transmitter duty cycle into account. Based on our observations, we can state at the 95% confidence level that fewer than 6.6% of stars within 100 pc host a transmitter that is continuously transmitting a narrowband signal with an equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) > 10 ^13 W. For stars within 20,000 ly, the fraction of stars with detectable transmitters (EIRP > 5 × 10 ^16 W) is at most 3 × 10 ^−4 . Finally, we showed that the UCLA SETI pipeline natively detects the signals detected with AI techniques by Ma et al.
Keywords
- Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
- Technosignatures
- Astrobiology
- Exoplanets
- Radio astronomy
- Milky Way Galaxy
