Framing the Possibility Space for Technosignature Searches

2026/03/18 by Jacob Haqq-Misra · 1 voice
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.pop-ph #physics.soc-ph

paper · pdf

arxiv published 2026/03/18 · arxiv updated 2026/05/29

Abstract

This paper develops a two-parameter matrix that can be used to describe four general strategies in the search for technosignatures. The first parameter is domain accessibility: can the technosignature be accessed within the spatial domain accessible to us today? The second parameter is recognizability: would the technosignature be recognizable to us if discovered today? This yields a matrix with four options that each comprise different search strategies. "Exploration" is the strategy for technosignatures that are accessible within our domain and recognizable. "Expansion" is the strategy for technosignatures that are recognizable but beyond our spatial domain. "Evolution" is the strategy for technosignatures that are accessible within our domain but unrecognizable. "Existence" is the strategy for technosignatures that are neither within our domain nor recognizable. The implications of these four options are discussed with relevance to the Fermi paradox and strategies for searching for technosignatures.

Citations

• Blink and you'll miss it -- How Technological Acceleration Shrinks SETI's Narrow Detection Window
• Detectability of Chlorofluorocarbons in the Atmospheres of Habitable M-dwarf Planets
• How Much SETI Has Been Done? Finding Needles in the n-dimensional Cosmic Haystack
• Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence with the Square Kilometre Array
• On the likelihood of non-terrestrial artifacts in the Solar System
• Galactic Gradients, Postbiological Evolution and the Apparent Failure of SETI
• Searching for Interstellar Communications

Discussions

• Jacob Haqq-Misra: Framing the Possibility Space for Technosignature Searches https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.17741 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.17741 https://arxiv.org/html/2603.17741 [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]