Polarization Criterion in Targeted SETI Observation

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel method for distinguishing extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) signals from radio frequency interference (RFI) by leveraging polarization features. We exploit the sinusoidal variation of the linearly polarized components of Stokes parameters with the parallactic angle as a characteristic signature of ETI signals, while such linearly polarized components remain relatively stable for terrestrial RFI. Typically, a minimum of 4-8 hours of observation time is required to detect these sinusoidal variations. The polarization approach in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) also enables us to study the radio stellar bursts emitted by M-type stars as ancillary science, which is relevant to assessing the habitability of exoplanets. Compared to the frequency drift method, the polarization method effectively reduces the required observation time for signal identification while improving the signal identification process.

8 pages, 2 figures, published in The Astronomical Journal. Using polarization features as the criterion in SETI research

References in corpus (17)

• The Solar Neighborhood XVII: Parallax Results from the CTIOPI 0.9m Program -- Twenty New Members of the RECONS 10 Parsec Sample
• The Kepler Catalog of Stellar Flares
• Tidal Locking of Habitable Exoplanets
• Magnetic fields of M dwarfs
• Validation of Twelve Small Kepler Transiting Planets in the Habitable Zone
• A Flare-Type IV Burst Event from Proxima Centauri and Implications for Space Weather
• Ultra-high-time Resolution Observations of Radio Bursts on AD Leonis
• The Breakthrough Listen Search For Intelligent Life Near the Galactic Center I
• ASKAP Detection of Periodic and Elliptically Polarized Radio Pulses from UV Ceti
• Choosing a Maximum Drift Rate in a SETI Search: Astrophysical Considerations
• A radio technosignature search towards Proxima Centauri resulting in a signal-of-interest
• Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation and Statistics in the Spectral Observations of FAST
• Drift Rates of Narrowband Signals in Long-term SETI Observations for Exoplanets
• Sensitive Multi-beam Targeted SETI Observations towards 33 Exoplanet Systems with FAST
• Multibeam Blind Search of Targeted SETI Observations toward 33 Exoplanet Systems with FAST
• Life on Exoplanets In the Habitable Zone of M-Dwarfs?
• Narrow-Band Signal Localization for SETI on Noisy Synthetic Spectrogram Data

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Dual-Backend Multibeam Position Switching Targeted SETI Observations toward Nearby Active Planet-Hosting Systems with FAST