학술논문

On Detecting Interstellar Scintillation in Narrowband Radio SETI
Document Type
Working Paper
Source
ApJ 952 46 (2023)
Subject
Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Language
Abstract
To date, the search for radio technosignatures has focused on sky location as a primary discriminant between technosignature candidates and anthropogenic radio frequency interference (RFI). In this work, we investigate the possibility of searching for technosignatures by identifying the presence and nature of intensity scintillations arising from the turbulent, ionized plasma of the interstellar medium (ISM). Past works have detailed how interstellar scattering can both enhance and diminish the detectability of narrowband radio signals. We use the NE2001 Galactic free electron density model to estimate scintillation timescales to which narrowband signal searches would be sensitive, and discuss ways in which we might practically detect strong intensity scintillations in detected signals. We further analyze the RFI environment of the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) with the proposed methodology and comment on the feasibility of using scintillation as a filter for technosignature candidates.
Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, published by ApJ