Searching for Technosignatures: Implications of Detection and Non-Detection

Abstract

The search for technosignatures from the Galaxy or the nearby universe raises two main questions: What are the possible characteristics of technosignatures? and How can future searches be optimized to enhance the probability of detection? Addressing these questions requires an interdisciplinary approach, combining i) the study of Anthropocene as a planetary transition and thus a possible proxy also for other planets, ii) the active search for technosignatures in the radio/optical and infrared range, and iii) the statistical modelling of technosignatures and Bayesian inference methods to learn from both detection and non-detection. This strategy (combining modelling and observations) offers the best scientific opportunity in the next decade to discover the possible existence of technological civilizations beyond Earth.

arXiv commentScience white paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1801.00052

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