Game Theory Helps SETI Search for Alien Civilizations

The SETI Institute's new search for technosignatures uses the anti-solar point, a concept from game theory, to determine when and where to look for signals. The effort, called the ATA-ASP survey, involves the Allen Telescope Array and focuses on the antisolar point, which shifts over time. The survey is multiyear and collects 11 petabytes of data over four years. It aims to identify when and where an extraterrestrial civilization might send signals, based on shared astronomical observations. The search doesn't replace the "where" aspect of SETI, but it adds a temporal dimension. The study highlights the importance of timing and location in detecting signals.

• The authors are Isabel Gerrard and Sofia Z. Sheikh.
• The paper was presented at the 77th International Astronautical Congress.
• The survey uses the anti-solar point, which is the point in space-time directly opposite the Sun from the perspective of an observer.
• The survey is based on the transit method, which is used to detect exoplanets.
• The survey is not constant, as the anti-solar point changes over time.
• The survey requires at least two years of observing sessions to sample every possible ASP along the ecliptic.
• The survey is expected to cover the entire ecliptic over four years, with observations staggered due to Earth's orbit.
• The initial findings are already available, but the full results have not been shared yet.
• The survey detected 1.9 million radio signals in 17 hours of observations, all from human sources.
• The results mark a milestone for SETI, as this is the first time the anti-solar point was used to search for signals.

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