A SETI Survey of the Vela Region using the Murchison Widefield Array: Orders of Magnitude Expansion in Search Space

Abstract

Following the results of our previous low frequency searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), directed toward the Galactic Centre and the Orion Molecular Cloud (Galactic Anticentre), we report a new large-scale survey toward the Vela region with the lowest upper limits thus far obtained with the MWA. Using the MWA in the frequency range 98-128 MHz over a 17 hour period, a $\sim$400 deg${}^2$ field centred on the Vela Supernova Remnant was observed with a frequency resolution of 10 kHz. Within this field there are six known exoplanets. At the positions of these exoplanets, we searched for narrow band signals consistent with radio transmissions from intelligent civilizations. No unknown signals were found with a 5sigma detection threshold. In total, across this work plus our two previous surveys, we have now examined 75 known exoplanets at low frequencies. In addition to the known exoplanets, we have included in our analysis the calculation of the Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) upper limits toward over 10 million stellar sources in the Vela field with known distances from Gaia (assuming a 10 kHz transmission bandwidth).

8 pages, 5 figures, 3 Tables, Published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia Manuscript ID: S1323358020000272

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• Multibeam SETI Observations toward Nearby M dwarfs with FAST
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• An Extragalactic Widefield Search for Technosignatures with the Murchison Widefield Array
• An Improved Machine Learning Approach for Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation in FAST-SETI Survey Archival Data
• Artificial Broadcasts as Galactic Populations: II. Comparing Individualist and Collective Bounds on Broadcast Populations in Single Galaxies
• Artificial Broadcasts as Galactic Populations: III. Constraints on Radio Broadcasts from the Cosmic Population of Inhabited Galaxies