Optical SETI at ESO in the 2040s

Abstract

The searches for other life and for intelligence are fundamental problems that science faces today. Most searches so far have been focused on radio, but optical laser communication is an alternative, well suited for a ground-based observatory. A project to search for artificial laser communications with the current and future extreme multiplexity spectroscopic facilities that ESO may develop by the 2040s is outlined. The monochromatic light is a clearly identifiable technosignature. The enormous corollary outreach potential of this initiative is underlined.

This is an extended version of a white paper submitted in response to the ESO Expanding Horizons initiative; 5 pages