Related papers: On the maximum sufficient range of interstellar ve…
Interstellar comets arrive with key ingredients for deep-space platforms already in place: volatile inventories convertible to propellant, natural rotation providing continuous attitude variation, and hyperbolic trajectories that carry them…
Radio communication over interstellar distances is studied, accounting for noise, dispersion, scattering and motion. Large transmitted powers suggest maximizing power efficiency (ratio of information rate to average signal power) as opposed…
Our current sampling of the near-Earth space environment is wholly insufficient to measure the highly variable processes therein and make predictions on par with lower atmospheric weather. We sketch out the scientific rationale for a…
Capture of interstellar objects (ISOs) into the Solar system is dominated by ISOs with asymptotic incoming speeds $v_\infty<4\,$km\,s$^{-1}$. The capture rate is proportional to the ISO phase-space density in the Solar vicinity and does not…
We review the current knowledge and understanding of the interstellar medium of our galaxy. We first present each of the three basic constituents - ordinary matter, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields - of the interstellar medium, laying…
We present an analytic model to estimate the total number of rocky or icy objects that could be captured by planetary systems within the Milky Way galaxy and result in panspermia should they harbor life. We estimate the capture rate of…
A key measure of performance and comfort in a road traffic network is the travel time that the users of the network experience to complete their journeys. Travel times on road traffic networks are stochastic, highly variable, and dependent…
The distances that galactic cosmic ray electrons and positrons can travel are severely limited by energy losses to at most a few kiloparsec, thereby rendering the local spectrum very sensitive to the exact distribution of sources in our…
Some tests of gravity theories - periastron shift, geodetic precession, change in mean motion and gravitational redshift - are applied in solar and stellar systems to constrain the cosmological constant. We thus consider a length scale…
In this paper we outline the range of probes and scientific instruments that will be required in order for Icarus to fulfill its scientific mission of exploring a nearby star, its attendant planetary system, and the intervening interstellar…
Electric sails are propulsion systems that generate momentum via the deflection of stellar wind particles through electric forces. Here, we investigate the relative merits of electric sails and light sails driven by stellar radiation…
By using the random interchanging algorithm, we investigate the relations between average distance, standard deviation of degree distribution and synchronizability of complex networks. We find that both increasing the average distance and…
We have shown in paper I of this series (arXiv:1706.03795) that interstellar communication to nearby (pc) stars is possible at data rates of bits per second per Watt between a 1 m sized probe and a large receiving telescope (E-ELT, 39 m),…
At this point in time, there is very little empirical evidence on the likelihood of a space-faring species originating in the biosphere of a habitable world. However, there is a tension between the expectation that such a probability is…
A simple and accurate relationship is demonstrated that links the average shortest path, nodes, and edges in a complex network. This relationship takes advantage of the concept of link density and shows a large improvement in fitting…
Laser inter-satellite links (LISLs) are envisioned between satellites in upcoming satellite constellations, such as Phase I of SpaceX's Starlink. Within a constellation, satellites can establish LISLs with other satellites in the same…
We present an achievable rate for general Gaussian relay networks. We show that the achievable rate is within a constant number of bits from the information-theoretic cut-set upper bound on the capacity of these networks. This constant…
Interstellar radar is a potential intermediate step between passive observation of exoplanets and interstellar exploratory missions. Compared to passive observation, it has the traditional advantages of radar astronomy. It can measure…
Nomadic worlds, i.e., objects not gravitationally bound to any star(s), are of great interest to planetary science and astrobiology. They have garnered attention recently due to constraints derived from microlensing surveys and the recent…
In the nearly 60 years of spaceflight we have accomplished wonderful feats of exploration that have shown the incredible spirit of the human drive to explore and understand our universe. Yet in those 60 years we have barely left our solar…