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COLLOQUY 4

THE RATIONALE FOR A PREFERRED FREQUENCY BAND:

THE WATER HOLE

Prepared by:

Bernard M. Oliver

Vice-President of Research

and Development

Hewlett Packard Corporation

THE RATIONALE FOR A PREFERRED FREQUENCY BAND:
THE WATER HOLE

Seventeen years ago Cocconi and Morrison (ref. 1) suggested that we search at frequencies near the hydrogen line for signals emitted by advanced extraterrestrial civilizations attempting to establish contact with us. At the time, the hydrogen line was believed to be unique but, since then, dozens of other microwave emission lines from a wide variety of interstellar molecules have been discovered. In 1971 the Cyclops study (ref. 2), for reasons that are believed to be rather fundamental, identified the band between 1400 and 1727 MHz bounded at the low end by the hydrogen line (1420 MHz) and at the high end by the hydroxyl lines (1612 to 1720 MHz) as a prime region of the spectrum to be searched for interstellar signals. Because of these limiting markers the Cyclops team dubbed this region the "water hole" and suggested that different galactic species might meet there just as different terrestrial species have always met at more mundane water holes.

At present there is no serious interference in the water hole but navigational satellites and other systems are being planned that would fill the band with interfering signals such as continuous pseudo-random wide band noise. If these systems become operational as allocated, a substantial fraction if not all of the water hole may be rendered unusable for the search. The proposed services can be shifted to other frequencies without appreciable loss of effectiveness but, if the rationale for the water hole is correct, the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life cannot. It would be a bitter irony if the desire to know exactly where we were at all times on Earth were to prevent us from ever knowing where we are with respect to other life in the Galaxy. It is therefore timely to reexamine the case for the water hole in order that we do not, out of ignorance or carelessness, forever blind ourselves to the signals from advanced societies (see Sections III-8 and III-9).

The basic premise that leads us to the water hole is that any advanced society wishing to establish contact will choose the least expensive means that will nevertheless ensure success. As we shall see, one of the dominating factors is the energy that must be expended by the society to announce its existence over interstellar distances, not just to us but to all likely planetary systems. It is this consideration that leads to the radiation of electromagnetic waves rather than probes or spaceships and to the spectral region of the water hole.

THE CASE FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

In all probability we will have to examine thousands if not hundreds of thousands of targets before we succeed in detecting intelligent life. The nearest civilization is probably several tens and maybe hundreds of light years from the Sun. With such a profusion of targets, all at such enormous distances, it appears that search by actual manned space travel or by sending out swarms of probes is out of the question (see Section III-1). This approach is far too consumptive of time and energy.

Just to send one spaceship to a nearby star and return it in twice the round trip light time, using not fusion or fission power with low yields but matter-antimatter annihilation, would require ~1024 J. This is enough energy to supply the present total U.S. electrical power for 50,000 years or to keep a 1000 MW omnidirectional beacon shining for 10 million years. Such a beacon could be received by civilizations around any of the million or more F, G, and K stars within 1000 light years, and would probably not need to be radiated by the searching society for more than 1000 years. If so, the beacon is 1010 times as effective per joule.

If we seek to reduce the energy requirements of space travel by, say, 104, we incur round trip travel times of 400 years per light year or 1600 years for the nearest star. Clearly we are not going to find other intelligent life by hurling tons of matter through space but by receiving - and possibly some day sending some form of radiation.

Regardless of what form of radiation is used, in order to detect that a signal exists and that it is of artificial origin:

1. The number of particles received must significantly exceed the natural background count

2. The signal must exhibit some property not found in natural radiations

In addition the radiation should

3. Require the least radiated power

4. Not be absorbed by the interstellar medium or planetary atmospheres

5. Not be deflected by galactic fields

6. Be readily collected over a large area

7. Permit efficient generation and detection

8. Travel at high speed

9. Normally be radiated by technological civilizations

Requirements 1, 3, and 8 taken together virtually exclude from consideration all particles except those having zero rest mass. The kinetic energy of an electron travelling at half the speed of light is 10 times the total energy of a 150 GHz photon. All other factors being equal the electron communication system would require 100 million times as much power. Baryons are worse. In addition, all charged particles fail requirements 4 and 5. Of the zero rest mass particles, gravitons and neutrinos fail requirements 6, 7, and 9. Of all known particles, only low energy photons meet all the listed criteria. It is almost certain that interstellar communication, if it exists, is accom plished by electromagnetic waves.

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