COSMIC: An Ethernet-based Commensal, Multimode Digital Backend on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Abstract
The primary goal of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is to gain an understanding of the prevalence of technologically advanced beings (organic or inorganic) in the Galaxy. One way to approach this is to look for technosignatures: remotely detectable indicators of technology, such as temporal or spectral electromagnetic emissions consistent with an artificial source. With the new Commensal Open-Source Multimode Interferometer Cluster (COSMIC) digital backend on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), we aim to conduct a search for technosignatures that is significantly more comprehensive, more sensitive, and more efficient than previously attempted. The COSMIC system is currently operational on the VLA, recording data, and designed with the flexibility to provide user-requested modes. This paper describes the hardware system design, the current software pipeline, and plans for future development.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2310.09414,
title = {COSMIC: An Ethernet-based Commensal, Multimode Digital Backend on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence},
author = {Chenoa D. Tremblay and Savin Shynu Varghese and Jack Hickish and Paul Demorest and Cherry Ng and Andrew P. V. Siemion and Daniel Czech and Ross A. Donnachie and Wael Farah and Vishal Gajjar and Matt Lebofsky and David E. MacMahon and Talon Myburgh and Mark Ruzindana and Joseph S. Bright and Alan Erickson and Kevin Lacker},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2310.09414},
year = {2023}
}
Comments
30 pages, 17 figures. Accepted for publication in AJ