The Astronomical Journal (Jan 2023)
A Simultaneous Dual-site Technosignature Search Using International LOFAR Stations
- Owen A. Johnson,
- Vishal Gajjar,
- Evan F. Keane,
- David J. McKenna,
- Charles Giese,
- Ben McKeon,
- Tobia D. Carozzi,
- Cloe Alcaria,
- Aoife Brennan,
- Bryan Brzycki,
- Steve Croft,
- Jamie Drew,
- Richard Elkins,
- Peter T. Gallagher,
- Ruth Kelly,
- Matt Lebofsky,
- Dave H. E. MacMahon,
- Joseph McCauley,
- Imke de Pater,
- Shauna Rose Raeside,
- Andrew P. V. Siemion,
- S. Pete Worden
Affiliations
- Owen A. Johnson
- ORCiD
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin , College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; School of Physics, O’Brien Centre for Science North, University College Dublin , Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
- Vishal Gajjar
- ORCiD
- Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; SETI Institute , 339 Bernardo Avenue Suite 200 Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
- Evan F. Keane
- ORCiD
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin , College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Natural Sciences, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe—University of Galway , University Road, H91 TK33, Galway, Ireland
- David J. McKenna
- ORCiD
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin , College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies , 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Charles Giese
- ORCiD
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin , College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie , Bonn, Germany
- Ben McKeon
- ORCiD
- School of Natural Sciences, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe—University of Galway , University Road, H91 TK33, Galway, Ireland; Department of Physics, University of Limerick , V94 T9PX, Limerick, Ireland
- Tobia D. Carozzi
- ORCiD
- Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , Onsala Space Observatory, SE-439 92 Onsala, Sweden
- Cloe Alcaria
- ORCiD
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin , College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; Département de Physique, Université Paul Sabatier , Toulouse, France
- Aoife Brennan
- ORCiD
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin , College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Natural Sciences, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe—University of Galway , University Road, H91 TK33, Galway, Ireland; European Southern Observatory , Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Región Metropolitana, Chile
- Bryan Brzycki
- ORCiD
- Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Steve Croft
- ORCiD
- Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; SETI Institute , 339 Bernardo Avenue Suite 200 Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
- Jamie Drew
- The Breakthrough Initiatives , NASA Research Park, Boulevard 18, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- Richard Elkins
- Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Peter T. Gallagher
- ORCiD
- School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies , 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Ruth Kelly
- ORCiD
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory , Department of Space and Climate Physics, UCL, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
- Matt Lebofsky
- ORCiD
- Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Dave H. E. MacMahon
- ORCiD
- Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Joseph McCauley
- ORCiD
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin , College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Imke de Pater
- ORCiD
- Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Shauna Rose Raeside
- ORCiD
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin , College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies , 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Physical Sciences and Centre for Astrophysics & Relativity, Dublin City University , Glasnevin, D09 W6Y4, Ireland
- Andrew P. V. Siemion
- ORCiD
- Breakthrough Listen, University of California , Berkeley, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; SETI Institute , 339 Bernardo Avenue Suite 200 Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
- S. Pete Worden
- The Breakthrough Initiatives , NASA Research Park, Boulevard 18, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acf9f5
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 166,
no. 5
p. 193
Abstract
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence aims to find evidence of technosignatures, which can point toward the possible existence of technologically advanced extraterrestrial life. Radio signals similar to those engineered on Earth may be transmitted by other civilizations, motivating technosignature searches across the entire radio spectrum. In this endeavor, the low-frequency radio band has remained largely unexplored; with prior radio searches primarily above 1 GHz. In this survey at 110–190 MHz, observations of 1,631,198 targets from TESS and Gaia are reported. Observations took place simultaneously with two international stations (noninterferometric) of the Low Frequency Array in Ireland and Sweden. We can reject the presence of any Doppler drifting narrowband transmissions in the barycentric frame of reference, with equivalent isotropic radiated power of 10 ^17 W, for 0.4 million (or 1.3 million) stellar systems at 110 (or 190) MHz. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of using multisite simultaneous observations for rejecting anthropogenic signals in the search for technosignatures.
Keywords