Potential UV/X-ray SETI Applications

PSETI Seminar
Drew Miles
October 22, 2020

Abstract:
Though the history of SETI has been dominated by searches at wavelengths from visible to radio, recent advancements in UV and X-ray technology and concepts proposed for future missions could help extend SETI's coverage into shorter wavelengths. In this talk I will discuss UV and X-ray diffraction grating development at Penn State University and how instruments based on these gratings could be applied to SETI projects. I will also discuss several hypothetical high-energy sources of ETI signals, including X-ray photons as information carriers, the manipulation of naturally occurring X-ray emission, and artificial spectral signatures at UV wavelengths. Lastly, I will allow time for open discussion on the feasibility of the presented concepts and other potential high(er)-energy SETI applications.