A real-time FFT-KLT implementation for SETI research at Sardinia Radio Telescope

Paper number

IAC-16,A4,1,8,x34113

Coauthor

Mr. Andrea Melis, INAF - Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Raimondo Concu, INAF - Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Pierpaolo Pari, INAF, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Claudio Maccone, International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Andrea Possenti, INAF, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Giuseppe Valente, National Institute for Astrophysics, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Carlo Migoni, INAF - Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica, Italy

Coauthor

Mr. Alessio Trois, INAF - Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Valentina Vacca, INAF, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Silvia Casu, INAF - Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Maria Ilaria Lunesu, University of Cagliari, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Alessandro Navarrini, INAF - Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Delphine Perrodin, INAF, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Tonino Pisanu, National Institute for Astrophysics, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Francesco Schillirò, National Institute for Astrophysics, Italy

Year

2016

Abstract

The Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is a project whose goal is to find possible life signatures emitted (intentionally or unintentionally) by possible civilizations from other habitable planets.
Historically, the narrow-band FFT approach has been used, since a
quasi-monochromatic signal is the most probable signal one would use to send a message to another world, that is in the case of
intentionally-transmitted signals.
Nevertheless, we could receive an unintentionally-transmitted signal as well.
In that case, it would most certainly not be a quasi-monochromatic signal, but would probably be similar (with a wider bandwidth, of the order of MHz) to the signals that we use for conventional communications on Earth.
The Kahrunen-Loeve Transform (KLT) is a powerful algorithm for such a kind of research.
However, a real-time implementation of the KLT has thus far not worked due to a lack of technological resources.
We describe a hardware-software infrastructure at the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) that, in real-time, makes possible to perform the KLT in parallel to the FFT. Finally, we also present first results we achieved on field.

Abstract document

IAC-16,A4,1,8,x34113.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-16,A4,1,8,x34113.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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