OSETI with STACEE: A Search for Nanosecond Optical Transients from Nearby Stars

TL;DR

This study used the STACEE gamma-ray detector to search for nanosecond optical laser pulses from 187 nearby stars, aiming to detect extraterrestrial technological signals, but found no evidence of such pulses.

Contribution

First application of the STACEE detector for optical SETI, demonstrating its high sensitivity to nanosecond laser pulses from nearby stars.

Findings

No laser pulses detected from any of the 187 stars.

STACEE's sensitivity allows detection of approximately 10 photons/m² at 420 nm.

Observation duration was 10 minutes per star.

Abstract

We have used the STACEE high-energy gamma-ray detector to look for fast blue-green laser pulses from the vicinity of 187 stars. The STACEE detector offers unprecedented light-collecting capability for the detection of nanosecond pulses from such lasers. We estimate STACEE's sensitivity to be approximately 10 photons per square meter at a wavelength of 420 nm. The stars have been chosen because their characteristics are such that they may harbor habitable planets and they are relatively close to Earth. Each star was observed for 10 minutes and we found no evidence for laser pulses in any of the data sets.