A SETI Survey of the Vela Region using the Murchison Widefield Array: Orders of Magnitude Expansion in Search Space

TL;DR

This paper reports a large-scale low-frequency SETI survey of the Vela region with the Murchison Widefield Array, expanding the search space significantly and setting new upper limits on extraterrestrial radio signals from known exoplanets and stellar sources.

Contribution

It presents the first extensive low-frequency SETI survey of the Vela region, increasing the search volume and sensitivity, and providing new upper limits on extraterrestrial radio transmissions.

Findings

No signals detected above 5sigma threshold.

Examined 75 known exoplanets at low frequencies.

Calculated EIRP upper limits for over 10 million stellar sources.

Abstract

Following the results of our previous low frequency searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), directed toward the Galactic Centre and the Orion Molecular Cloud (Galactic Anticentre), we report a new large-scale survey toward the Vela region with the lowest upper limits thus far obtained with the MWA. Using the MWA in the frequency range 98-128 MHz over a 17 hour period, a $\sim$400 deg$^2$ field centred on the Vela Supernova Remnant was observed with a frequency resolution of 10 kHz. Within this field there are six known exoplanets. At the positions of these exoplanets, we searched for narrow band signals consistent with radio transmissions from intelligent civilizations. No unknown signals were found with a 5sigma detection threshold. In total, across this work plus our two previous surveys, we have now examined 75 known exoplanets at low frequencies. In addition to the known exoplanets, we have included in our analysis the calculation of the Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) upper limits toward over 10 million stellar sources in the Vela field with known distances from Gaia (assuming a 10 kHz transmission bandwidth).