Topic
Stellar engine
About: Stellar engine is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5 publications have been published within this topic receiving 65 citations.
Papers
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors estimate the a priori probability of detecting a Shkadov thruster during an exoplanet transit, which even given optimistic assumptions remains stubbornly low.
Abstract: The Class A stellar engine (also known as a Shkadov thruster) is a spherical arc mirror, designed to use the impulse from a star's radiation pressure to generate a thrust force, perturbing the star's motion. If this mirror obstructs part of the stellar disc during the transit of an exoplanet, then this may be detected by studying the shape of the transit light curve, presenting another potential means by which the action of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) can be discerned. We model the light curves produced by exoplanets transiting a star which possesses a Shkadov thruster, and show how the parameters of the planet and the properties of the thruster can be disentangled. provided that radial velocity follow-up measurements are possible, and that other obscuring phenomena typical to exoplanet transit curves (such as the presence of starspots or intrinsic stellar noise) do not dominate. These difficulties aside, we estimate the a priori probability of detecting a Shkadov thruster during an exoplanet transit, which even given optimistic assumptions remains stubbornly low. Despite this, many exoplanet transit surveys designed for radial velocity follow-up are on the horizon, so we argue that this remains a useful serendipitous SETI technique. At worst, this technique will place an upper limit on the number of Class A stellar engines in the Solar neighbourhood; at best, this could help identify unusual transiting exoplanet systems as candidates for further investigation with other SETI methods.
25 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate the a priori probability of detecting a Shkadov thruster during an exoplanet transit, which even given optimistic assumptions remains stubbornly low.
Abstract: The Class A stellar engine (also known as a Shkadov thruster) is a spherical arc mirror, designed to use the impulse from a star's radiation pressure to generate a thrust force, perturbing the star's motion. If this mirror obstructs part of the stellar disc during the transit of an exoplanet, then this may be detected by studying the shape of the transit light curve, presenting another potential means by which the action of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) can be discerned. We model the light curves produced by exoplanets transiting a star which possesses a Shkadov thruster, and show how the parameters of the planet and the properties of the thruster can be disentangled. provided that radial velocity follow-up measurements are possible, and that other obscuring phenomena typical to exoplanet transit curves (such as the presence of starspots or intrinsic stellar noise) do not dominate. These difficulties aside, we estimate the a priori probability of detecting a Shkadov thruster during an exoplanet transit, which even given optimistic assumptions remains stubbornly low. Despite this, many exoplanet transit surveys designed for radial velocity follow-up are on the horizon, so we argue that this remains a useful serendipitous SETI technique. At worst, this technique will place an upper limit on the number of Class A stellar engines in the Solar neighbourhood; at best, this could help identify unusual transiting exoplanet systems as candidates for further investigation with other SETI methods.
15 citations
TL;DR: The Star Tug as mentioned in this paper is a stellar engine capable of producing significantly higher accelerations than previous stellar engine concepts, which consists of an engine positioned ahead of the star along the desired direction of acceleration.
7 citations
1 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this article, a simple dynamic model for solar motion in the Galaxy is developed, which takes into account the (perturbation) thrust force provided by a stellar engine, which is superposed on the usual gravitational forces.
Abstract: A stellar engine is defined in this chapter as a device that uses the resources of a star to generate work. Stellar engines belong to class A and B when they use the impulse and the energy of star’s radiation, respectively. Class C stellar engines are combinations of types A and B. Minimum and optimum radii were identified for class C stellar engines. When the Sun is considered, the optimum radius is around 450 millions km. Class A and C stellar engines provide almost the same thrust force. A simple dynamic model for solar motion in the Galaxy is developed. It takes into account the (perturbation) thrust force provided by a stellar engine, which is superposed on the usual gravitational forces. Two different Galaxy gravitational potential models were used to describe solar motion. The results obtained in both cases are in reasonably good agreement. Three simple strategies of changing the solar trajectory are considered. For a single Sun revolution the maximum deviation from the usual orbit is of the order of 35 to 40pc. Thus, stellar engines of the kind envisaged here may be used to control to a certain extent the Sun movement in the Galaxy
7 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a simple dynamic model for Sun motion in the Galaxy is developed, which takes into account the (perturbation) thrust force provided by a stellar engine, which is superposed on the usual gravitational forces.
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2006 | 2 |