Listening for Alien Whispers: Advanced Software Developed for Searching Extraterrestrial Technosignatures

The Breakthrough Listen Investigation for Periodic Spectral Signals (BLIPSS) has deployed novel techniques to detect signs of extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) within our galaxy, the Milky Way. A Fast Folding Algorithm (FFA)-based software has been developed by the team, providing an enhanced capacity to pick up repetitive narrow pulse sequences. The aim is to identify repeated patterns in signals coming from the core of our galaxy. The algorithm has been validated using known pulsars and is set to scrutinize an extensive dataset from the Galactic Center.

BLIPSS utilizes this new FFA-based software in its SETI efforts within the Milky Way. The software can pick up repeating signal patterns, potentially signifying the existence of extraterrestrial technology in the heavily populated central region of our galaxy.

Led by Akshay Suresh, a Cornell doctoral candidate in astronomy, the BLIPSS team is on the frontier of detecting periodic signals from the Milky Way’s core. The research is focused on detecting repetitive patterns, as this is a potential way to identify extraterrestrial intelligence within our galactic vicinity.

The team’s software, grounded in the Fast Folding Algorithm, provides a highly efficient method for searching signals, with increased sensitivity to periodic sequences of narrow pulses. Their findings were published in The Astronomical Journal on May 30 in a paper titled, “A 4–8 GHz Galactic Center Search for Periodic Technosignatures.”

Pulsars, rapidly spinning neutron stars that radiate beams of radio energy across Earth, are natural celestial bodies that generate periodic signals. However, humans also use directed periodic transmissions for various purposes, including radar. Such signals would be an effective way of getting noticed in interstellar space, distinguishing themselves from the background of non-periodic signals and requiring much less energy than a transmitter that broadcasts continuously.

Suresh claims that BLIPSS serves as a prime example of innovative software acting as a multiplier for SETI science. The project represents the first time the Fast Folding Algorithm has been introduced to SETI, with the open-source software leveraging an FFA to process over 1.5 million time series for periodic signals in approximately 30 minutes.

BLIPSS is a joint initiative between Cornell, the SETI Institute, and Breakthrough Listen. By focusing on the densely populated central region of the Milky Way, known for its abundance of stars and potentially habitable exoplanets, the project significantly improves the odds of finding signs of extraterrestrial technology. This part of the galaxy could also be the perfect location for aliens to position a beacon to communicate with large areas of the Galaxy.

The team tested the algorithm on known pulsars and successfully detected periodic emissions as anticipated. They then analyzed a larger dataset from scans of the Galactic Center conducted using the Breakthrough Listen instrument on the 100-meter Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. Unlike pulsars, which emit across a broad spectrum of radio frequencies, BLIPSS focused on repeating signals in a narrower frequency range, covering less than one-tenth of the breadth of an average FM radio station.

Co-author Steve Croft, a Breakthrough Listen project scientist, stated that the combination of these somewhat narrow bandwidths with periodic patterns could hint at intentional technological activities of intelligent civilizations. According to him, Breakthrough Listen collects enormous amounts of data, and the technique developed by Akshay provides a new method to sift through this vast data haystack for potentially exciting evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life forms.

Related links:

• SETI Institute
• Breakthrough Listen
• Green Bank Observatory

For general information on the Fast Folding Algorithm (FFA) or periodic spectral signals:

• Fast Folding Algorithm Overview
• Pulsar Signal Detection