Brian Lacki
September 26, 2024
Zoom recording
Abstract
With their postulated ability to replicate through interstellar travel, technological societies may be unlike any astrophysical phenomenon we have observed. If true, different galaxies could have completely different technosignature profiles, a result of different histories. I introduce the concept of metasocieties, a collection of societies with shared influences described by a distribution function. This talk presents my recent work applying point process theory to the “haystack” of metasocieties, societies, and broadcasts. I contrast the “individualist” methods of typical SETI, looking for individual signals rising above the noise, to “collective” methods that look for the combined effects of a population. The problem of confusion, in which many overlapping signals prevent detection of any one of them, is addressed, as well as limits from the total luminosity of a galaxy. I close with thoughts on galactic ecology and the Fermi Paradox.