arXiv subjects

Mark Ruzindana

Publications and source records attributed to Mark Ruzindana.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Breakthrough Listen's Automated Commensal Technosignature Survey with MeerKAT

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is an ongoing effort to detect technosignatures, evidence of technologically capable life beyond Earth. Conducting a comprehensive SETI programme requires a large amount of telescope time, which must be balanced with the science goals of a given observatory. Fortunately, many modern radio telescopes offer commensal access to the data they produce, allowing multiple scientific programmes to operate in parallel. The MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa provides commensal access to a range of components, from each antenna's digitiser to the main channeliser (F-engine), via multicast Ethernet groups. Here, we describe the Breakthrough Listen user-supplied equipment (BLUSE) system at MeerKAT, which leverages multicast Ethernet to conduct an autonomous commensal technosignature survey, processing the full available bandwidth from all antennas. Its primary mode of operation is to upchannelise the incoming F-engine data to ~1Hz resolution, synthesize coherent beams on objects of interest, and search the resultant data for technosignatures. Since 2022, BLUSE has autonomously processed data from coherent beams synthesized on more than 1.2 million individual pointings, including repeat visits. BLUSE demonstrates how commensal technosignature surveys on radio telescope arrays offer a rapid and cost-effective way to increase the rate at which technosignature surveys can be conducted. This article describes the architecture of BLUSE, provides experimental evidence validating its features and performance, and quantifies its observing progress over the past few years. We also discuss the technical evolution of BLUSE, examine challenges faced and addressed, and consider avenues for future research and development.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

COSMIC's Large-Scale Search for Technosignatures during the VLA sky Survey: Survey Description and First Results

Developing algorithms to search through data efficiently is a challenging part of searching for signs of technology beyond our solar system. We have built a digital signal processing system and computer cluster on the backend of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico in order to search for signals throughout the Galaxy consistent with our understanding of artificial radio emissions. In our first paper, we described the system design and software pipelines. In this paper, we describe a postprocessing pipeline to identify persistent sources of interference, filter out false positives, and search for signals not immediately identifiable as anthropogenic radio frequency interference during the VLA Sky Survey. As of 01 September 2024, the Commensal Open-source Multi-mode Interferometric Cluster had observed more than 950,000 unique pointings. This paper presents the strategy we employ when commensally observing during the VLA Sky Survey and a postprocessing strategy for the data collected during the survey. To test this postprocessing pipeline, we searched toward 511 stars from the $Gaia$ catalog with coherent beams. This represents about 30 minutes of observation during VLASS, where we typically observe about 2000 sources per hour in the coherent beamforming mode. We did not detect any unidentifiable signals, setting isotropic power limits ranging from 10$^{11}$ to 10$^{16}$W.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

COSMIC: An Ethernet-based Commensal, Multimode Digital Backend on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

The primary goal of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is to gain an understanding of the prevalence of technologically advanced beings (organic or inorganic) in the Galaxy. One way to approach this is to look for technosignatures: remotely detectable indicators of technology, such as temporal or spectral electromagnetic emissions consistent with an artificial source. With the new Commensal Open-Source Multimode Interferometer Cluster (COSMIC) digital backend on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), we aim to conduct a search for technosignatures that is significantly more comprehensive, more sensitive, and more efficient than previously attempted. The COSMIC system is currently operational on the VLA, recording data, and designed with the flexibility to provide user-requested modes. This paper describes the hardware system design, the current software pipeline, and plans for future development.

astro-ph.IM↗