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arXiv · 1707.03730

Exoplanet Transits as the Foundation of an Interstellar Communications Network

Duncan H Forgan
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Abstract

Two fundamental problems for extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) attempting to establish interstellar communication are timing and energy consumption. Humanity's study of exoplanets via their transit across the host star highlights a means of solving both problems. An ETI 'A' can communicate with ETI 'B' if B is observing transiting planets in A's star system, either by building structures to produce artificial transits observable by B, or by emitting signals at B during transit, at significantly lower energy consumption than typical electromagnetic transmission schemes. This can produce a network of interconnected civilisations, establishing contact via observing each other's transits. Assuming that civilisations reside in a Galactic Habitable Zone (GHZ), I conduct Monte Carlo Realisation simulations of the establishment and growth of this network, and analyse its properties in the context of graph theory. I find that at any instant, only a few civilisations are correctly aligned to communicate via transits. However, we should expect the true network to be cumulative, where a "handshake" connection at any time guarantees connection in the future via e.g. electromagnetic signals. In all our simulations, the cumulative network connects all civilisations together in a complete network. If civilisations share knowledge of their network connections, the network can be fully complete on timescales of order a hundred thousand years. Once established, this network can connect any two civilisations either directly, or via intermediate civilisations, with a path much less than the dimensions of the GHZ.

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Duncan H Forgan. 2017-07-06. Exoplanet Transits as the Foundation of an Interstellar Communications Network. https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.03730

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