Messaging with cost-optimized interstellar beacons

Astrobiology
James BenfordDominic Benford

Abstract

On Earth, how would we build galactic-scale beacons to attract the attention of extraterrestrials, as some have suggested we should do? From the point of view of expense to a builder on Earth, experience shows an optimum trade-off. This emerges by minimizing the cost of producing a desired power density at long range, which determines the maximum range of detectability of a transmitted signal. We derive general relations for cost-optimal aperture and power. For linear dependence of capital cost on transmitter power and antenna area, minimum capital cost occurs when the cost is equally divided between antenna gain and radiated power. For nonlinear power-law dependence, a similar simple division occurs. This is validated in cost data for many systems; industry uses this cost optimum as a rule of thumb. Costs of pulsed cost-efficient transmitters are estimated from these relations by using current cost parameters ($/W, $/m(2)) as a basis. We show the scaling and give examples of such beacons. Galactic-scale beacons can be built for a few billion dollars with our present technology. Such beacons have narrow "searchlight" beams and short "dwell times" when the beacon would be seen by an alien observer in their sky. More-powerful bea...Continue Reading

References

Apr 19, 2007·Human & Experimental Toxicology·B J Maycock, D J Benford
Jul 14, 2010·Astrobiology·Gregory BenfordDominic Benford

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Citations

Jul 14, 2010·Astrobiology·Gregory BenfordDominic Benford
Oct 5, 2013·Clinical Microbiology Reviews·Romney M HumphriesGeorge Sakoulas
Mar 20, 2021·Astrobiology·James Benford

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
electron beam
chip

Software Mentioned

Ozma
METI
SETI
DeclareMathSizes

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