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Preface

Technosignature is a term that encompasses the idea of searching for intelligent, technological signatures of civilizations other than ours in the universe. A term that would probably be more familiar to the larger audience would be SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence). Technosignatures are the technological equivalent of biosignatures and a subset of biosignatures, which represent evidence of alien life, whether it is intelligent or not. They represent any signals that can be collected from the universe, such as radio wavelengths, optical signals, and many more, that can be potential candidates as signals emitted intentionally from another part of the universe that is not Earth.

This book—Technosignatures for Detecting Intelligent Life in Our Universe: A Research Companion—represents a collection of works by a wide diversity of researchers who have been in this field for a long time. While there have been several books written on the subject in the past, this is the newest research that we have to date in the field, and it by no means represents all aspects of technosignatures research. But this book does give us a good lens into the current state-of-the-art in the field. At the same time, it spreads across a wide range of other fields that are tangential or are used for SETI—from history and economics to communication, photometry, statistics, data science, astrobiology, exoplanetary science, and many more.

Some of the most important debates, when searching for life beyond our planet, have been around the definitions of life and intelligence. While we don’t have very accurate or universally agreed upon definitions for either of these monumentally important concepts, we can recognize, in general, what is life is and what intelligence is, especially on our planet. And, in general, we assume there is no intelligence without life, as we also consider artificial intelligence to be an extension and a byproduct of intelligent biological life. In fact, if biosignatures are signatures of life, in general, technosignatures are signatures of intelligent life, whether this life is biological, artificial, or even extinct. There are many voices in the community that are arguing that actually, in case we do find technosignatures, it is more likely that they will be some forms of artificial intelligence or signs of current or extinct civilizations.

At the same time, let’s not forget what Arthur C. Clarke said, that if we do find an advanced alien civilization, it is very likely that their technology would be, for us, undistinguishable from magic. Therefore, searching for technosignatures is not a trivial pursuit, and given how big the question “Are We Alone?” is, the problem we are facing is one of the most important and perennial in science.

As our science and scientific understanding and instruments advance, so do our definitions and framing or reframing of the same problem. The way we understand life and intelligence today, as well as potential life and intelligence, will co-evolve with our new discoveries, both here, on our planet, and in the Universe. And research companions like this one help with the current state of the field, but will also have to be updated and changed in time.

The first chapter, “Historical Perspectives - How the Search for Technosignatures Grew Out of the Cold War”, takes us into the detailed history of the field, the origins of SETI and the importance of placing this field in historical context. The second chapter, “Reading the Cosmos: What Our Science Tells Us about the Science of Another World”, highlights the importance of scientific process and evolution of science per se for an advanced civilization that can develop technologies and can communicate at interstellar distances, as well as how perceptions of space and time might affect communication with possible intelligent alien life. The third chapter, “The Impact of Discovering the First Technosignature”, delves into the social and societal impact of such a big discovery and how we can prepare here on Earth for disseminating such information to the public at large. The fourth chapter, “Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence by Locating Potential ET Communication Networks in Space”, outlines in more depth the possibility of communication networks from alien life, which would imply planetary and habitability networks, as well as more advanced and sophisticated means of communication. The fifth chapter, “Habitable Mini-Earths with Black Hole Cores”, proposes a new model of habitability for smaller planets, such as mini-Earths, that would have a black hole at their core. The sixth chapter, “Technosignatures in Time-Series Photometry”, proposes a new method for detecting technosignatures, based on the analysis of timeseries data in the light curves of photometry of exoplanets. The seventh chapter, “Post-Detection Message Analysis and Comprehension”, looks at the efforts that would be needed for the analysis, comprehension and possibly reply after such an alien message would be detected, from the point of view of information science and patterns. The eighth chapter, “Statistical Issues in the Search for Technosignatures”, develops a full physical-statistical description of electromagnetic technosignatures that could possibly populate the Milky Way from a technical point of view. The ninth and last chapter, “Economics and Technosignatures: New Connections”, explores the many ways in which ideas and findings from economics can be borrowed by the field of technosignatures in ways that can advance both detection and implications of detection of such a message or signal.

This collection of essays therefore represents an updated reference material for the field of technosignatures, and includes novel ideas from economics, information theory, astrophysics, statistics, social sciences, planetary sciences, and more. It is a research compendium for scientists from any interdisciplinary field who would want to get involved in this exciting area of work, and it is accessible not only to scientists but to the public at large as well.

Although not extensive, this book summarizes the multiple interdisciplinary efforts that have contributed to the field of technosignatures, particularly within the past few years. It shows how current advances in science, technology, and social sciences can support this effort and can be used as both a resource for the scientists in the field and as a reference for the public interested in the topic.

Anamaria Berea anamaria@bmsis.org or aberea@gmu.edu April 2022