Related papers: On the maximum sufficient range of interstellar ve…
In this paper we outline the considerations required in order to select a target star system for the Icarus interstellar mission. It is considered that the maximum likely range for the Icarus vehicle will be 15 light-years, and a list is…
A review is presented of the scientific benefits of rapid (v >= 0.1c) interstellar spaceflight. Significant benefits are identified in the fields of interstellar medium studies, stellar astrophysics, planetary science and astrobiology. In…
I review those properties of the interstellar medium within 15 light-years of the Sun which will be relevant for the planning of future rapid ($v /ge 0.1c$) interstellar space missions to the nearest stars. As the detailed properties of the…
Advanced civilizations capable of interstellar travel, if they exist, are likely to have advanced propulsion methods. Spaceships moving at high speeds would leave a particular signature which could be detected from Earth. We propose a…
Many situations in physics, biology, and engineering consist of the transport of some physical quantity through a network of narrow channels. The ability of a network to transport such a quantity in every direction can be described by the…
An interstellar communication network benefits from relay nodes placed in the gravitational lenses of stars. The signal gains are of order $10^{9}$ with optimal alignment, allowing for GBits connections at kW power levels with meter-sized…
Consider networks on $n$ vertices at average density 1 per unit area. We seek a network that minimizes total length subject to some constraint on journey times, averaged over source-destination pairs. Suppose journey times depend on both…
Interstellar travel in the Milky Way is commonly thought to be a long and dangerous enterprise, but are all galaxies so hazardous? I introduce the concept of galactic traversability to address this question. Stellar populations are one…
The optimal frequency for interstellar communication, using "Earth 2017" technology, was derived in papers I and II of this series (arXiv:1706.03795, arXiv:1706.05570). The framework included models for the loss of photons from diffraction…
In free-space optical satellite networks (FSOSNs), satellites connected via laser inter-satellite links (LISLs), latency is a critical factor, especially for long-distance inter-continental connections. Since satellites depend on solar…
This article gives an introduction to optimal transport, a mathematical theory that makes it possible to measure distances between functions (or distances between more general objects), to interpolate between objects or to enforce…
In this paper, we propose novel methods to increase total luminosity and decrease error propagation during subluminal or luminal interstellar transits by navigation with star maps. We demonstrate with theoretical and simulation models in…
It has recently been suggested in this journal by Benford (2019) that "Lurkers" in the form of interstellar exploration probes could be present in the solar system. Similarly, extraterrestrial intelligence could send long-lived probes to…
Motivated by recent experimental proposals to search for extragalactic cosmic rays (including anti-matter from distant galaxies), we study particle propagation through the intergalactic medium (IGM). We first use estimates of the magnetic…
We analytically work out the long-term variations caused on the motion of a planet orbiting a star by a very distant, pointlike massive object X. Apart from the semi-major axis a, all the other Keplerian osculating orbital elements…
The concept of a system-wide measure of the sustainment of life (habitability) for space-faring interplanetary species is introduced and explored. Although largely agnostic to the details of how interplanetary life might operate (e.g., via…
The bulk flow velocity for the cluster of interstellar cloudlets within about 30 pc of the Sun is determined from optical and ultraviolet absorption line data, after omitting from the sample stars with circumstellar disks or variable…
The ease of interstellar rocket travel is an issue with implications for the long term fate of our own and other civilizations and for the much-debated number of technological civilizations in the Galaxy. We show that the physical barrier…
Two new interplanetary technologies have advanced in the past decade to the point where they may enable exciting, affordable missions that reach further and faster deep into the outer regions of our solar system: (i) small and capable…
We consider random i.i.d. samples of absolutely continuous measures on bounded connected domains. We prove an upper bound on the $\infty$-transportation distance between the measure and the empirical measure of the sample. The bound is…