Technosignature Searches with Real-time Alert Brokers

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Gallay, Eleanor M., Davenport, James R. A., Croft, Steve
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Gallay, Eleanor M.
Davenport, James R. A.
Croft, Steve
author_facet Gallay, Eleanor M.
Davenport, James R. A.
Croft, Steve
contents We present an exploration of technosignature research that is possible using real-time alert brokers from surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Nine alert brokers currently stream up to 1 million alerts each night from ZTF, and LSST is projected to increase this volume by an order of magnitude. While these brokers are primarily designed to facilitate real-time follow-up of explosive transients such as supernovae, they offer a unique platform to discover rare forms of variability from nearby stars in real time, which is crucial for follow-up and characterization. We evaluate the capability for both spatial and temporal searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) methods using the currently available brokers, and present examples of technosignature searches using ZTF alert and archival data. We have deployed optical SETI techniques, such as planetary transit zone geometries and the SETI Ellipsoid. We have also developed a search for novel high-amplitude stellar dippers, and present a workflow that integrates features available directly through the brokers, as well as post-processing steps that build on the existing capabilities. Though the SETI methods that alert brokers can execute are currently limited, we provide suggestions that may enhance future technosignature and anomaly searches in the era of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_14744
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Technosignature Searches with Real-time Alert Brokers
Gallay, Eleanor M.
Davenport, James R. A.
Croft, Steve
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We present an exploration of technosignature research that is possible using real-time alert brokers from surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Nine alert brokers currently stream up to 1 million alerts each night from ZTF, and LSST is projected to increase this volume by an order of magnitude. While these brokers are primarily designed to facilitate real-time follow-up of explosive transients such as supernovae, they offer a unique platform to discover rare forms of variability from nearby stars in real time, which is crucial for follow-up and characterization. We evaluate the capability for both spatial and temporal searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) methods using the currently available brokers, and present examples of technosignature searches using ZTF alert and archival data. We have deployed optical SETI techniques, such as planetary transit zone geometries and the SETI Ellipsoid. We have also developed a search for novel high-amplitude stellar dippers, and present a workflow that integrates features available directly through the brokers, as well as post-processing steps that build on the existing capabilities. Though the SETI methods that alert brokers can execute are currently limited, we provide suggestions that may enhance future technosignature and anomaly searches in the era of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
title Technosignature Searches with Real-time Alert Brokers
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.14744