New software fine-tunes listening for signals from the stars

May 31. (EUROPE PRESS) –

Cornell University has developed new software to improve the search for periodic signals emanating from the nucleus of our galaxythe Milky Way.

The research aims to detect repeating patterns, a way to search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) within our cosmic neighborhood.

The software BLIPPS (Breakthrough Listen Investigation for Periodic Spectral SignalS), led by doctoral student in Astronomy Akshay Suresh and by The Astronomical Journal, it is based on a fast folding algorithm (FFA), an efficient search method that offers increased sensitivity to periodic sequences of narrow pulses.

Pulsars, rapidly spinning neutron stars that sweep beams of radio energy across Earth, are natural astrophysical objects that generate periodic signals, but humans also use directed periodic transmissions for a variety of applications, including radar. Such signals would be a good way to get someone’s attention across interstellar space, standing out against the background of non-periodic signals, as well as using much less power than a transmitter that transmits continuously.

“BLIPSS is an example of cutting-edge software as a scientific multiplier for SETI,” said Suresh it’s a statement. “Our study introduces SETI, for the first time, to the fast-folding algorithm; our open source software uses an FFA to analyze more than 1.5 million time series of periodic signals in approximately 30 minutes.”

BLIPSS is a collaborative effort between Cornell, the SETI Institute, and Breakthrough Listen. The project significantly improves the probability of capturing evidence of extraterrestrial technology by focusing on the central region of the Milky Way, known for its dense concentration of potentially habitable stars and exoplanets. The center of the Milky Way would also be an ideal location for aliens to place a beacon to contact large swaths of the galaxy.

The team tested their algorithm on known pulsars and was able to detect periodic emissions as expected. They then turned to a larger data set of scans of the Galactic Center made with the Breakthrough Listen instrument on the 100-meter Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia. Unlike pulsars, that broadcast over a wide range of radio frequenciesBLIPSS searched for repeated signals over a narrower range of frequencies, covering less than one-tenth the width of an average FM radio station.

“The combination of these relatively narrow bandwidths with periodic patterns could be indicative of deliberate technological activities of intelligent civilizations“said co-author Steve Croft, Breakthrough Listen project scientist. “Breakthrough Listen captures huge volumes of data, and Akshay’s technique provides a new method to help us look for needles in that haystack that could provide tantalizing evidence of extraterrestrial life forms. advanced”.

“Until now, SETI radio has mainly devoted its efforts to searching for continuous signals,” said co-author Vishal Gajjar, an astronomer at the SETI Institute. “Our study sheds light on the remarkable energy efficiency of a pulse train as a means of interstellar communication over great distances. In particular, This study marks the first comprehensive effort to conduct in-depth searches for these signals.”