Related papers: Optical SETI at ESO in the 2040s
Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) is regarded as an auspicious communication approach that can outperform the existing wireless technology. It utilizes LED lights, whose subtle variation in radiant intensity generate a binary data…
The goal of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is the detection of non-human technosignatures, such as technology-produced emission in radio observations. While many have speculated about the character of such…
It is known that the shape of a planet (oblateness, rings, etc.) slightly modifies the shape of the transit light curve. The forthcoming space missions (Corot, Kepler), able to detect the transit of Earth-like planets, could a fortiori also…
For the first time in human history, we will soon be able to apply the scientific method to the question "Are We Alone?" The rapid advance of exoplanet discovery, planetary systems science, and telescope technology will soon allow…
We describe updated scientific goals for the wide-field, millimeter-wave survey that will be produced by the Simons Observatory (SO). Significant upgrades to the 6-meter SO Large Aperture Telescope (LAT) are expected to be complete by 2028,…
In the recent Astro2020 Decadal Report, ''Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s'' Adaptive Optics (AO) was identified as a crucial technology for a variety of reasons. These included an emphasis on high-contrast…
Microscopy and optical imaging are drastically limited by the inhomogeneities encountered by the light while propagating from the object of interest to the detection system. In this context, adaptive optics and wavefront manipulation are…
Centuries of effort to improve imaging has focused on perfecting and combining lenses to obtain better optical performance and new functionalities. The arrival of nanotechnology has brought to this effort engineered surfaces called…
Up to 100,000 satellites could be launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in the coming decade. Assuming the two most advanced companies' plans are realised, close to 80,000 satellites will be present at a variety of altitudes between 328 -…
The transmission rate of communication between radio telescopes on Earth and extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) is here calculated up to distances of 1000 light years. Both phase-shift-keying (PSK) and frequency-shift keying (FSK)…
So far, 24 Isolated neutron stars (INSs) of different types have been identified at optical wavelengths, from the classical radio pulsars to more peculiar objects, like the magnetars. Most identifications have been obtained in the last 20…
Microlensing is proving to be one of the best techniques to detect distant, low-mass planets around the most common stars in the Galaxy. In principle, Earth's microlensing signal could offer the chance for other technological civilisations…
Starting in the 1970s, the Arecibo 305m telescope has made seminal contributions in the field of extragalactic spectroscopy. With the Gregorian upgrade completed in the late 1990s, the telescope acquired a field of view. Population of that…
We discuss the impact that the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes will have on the open astrophysical problems of resolved stellar populations. In particular, we address the interplay between multiband photometry and…
Research activities during the last decade have shown the strong potential of photonic devices to greatly simplify ground based and space borne astronomical instruments and to improve their performance. We focus specifically on the…
Some attempts to predict the very distant future of Radio Astronomy are given. It is not easy to predict a list of the first priority problems which may appear, but the facilities potential is more predictable. It is suggested, that in…
Energy transfer between photons and molecules and between neighboring molecules is ubiquitous in living nature, most prominently in photosynthesis. While energy transfer is efficiently utilized by living systems, its adoption to connect…
The Astro2020 report outlines numerous recommendations that could significantly advance technosignature science. Technosignatures refer to any observable manifestations of extraterrestrial technology, and the search for technosignatures is…
Much work in SETI has focused on detecting radio broadcasts due to extraterrestrial intelligence, but there have been limited efforts to transmit messages over interstellar distances. As a check if such messages can be interpreted once…
The large infrastructure projects for the next decade will allow a new quantum leap in terms of new possible science. ESFRI, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, a strategic initiative to develop the scientific…