Kuiper Belt Objects as a Distributed Neutrino Detector Network for SETI
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We propose the concept of a distributed network of neutrino targets located on Kuiper Belt objects as a possible method for intercepting moderately collimated neutrino signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. Unlike a single large detector on Earth or Mars, such a network can increase the probability of illumination by a wide beam due to the large volume occupied by the Kuiper Belt. Two main cases are considered. When gravitational lensing by a neutron star or black hole is used (Jackson, 2020), the neutrino beam remains extremely narrow (of order one centimetre), and the probability of a random intersection with Kuiper Belt objects becomes negligibly small. In the absence of gravitational lensing, the beam width is determined by collimation capabilities and can range from 0.01 to 1 AU. A distinction is made between two geometric questions. The probability that a narrow ray inter-sects the physical surface of a kilometrescale body is vanishingly small. The probability that at least one such body lies inside a beam of width 0.1 AU is, by contrast, of order 70% if a mean density n ∼ 10 AU−3 is adopted. When smaller objects (D ≳ 100 m) are included or when the beam width is ≥ 0.5 AU, this occupancy probability approaches 100%. Detection itself is treated separately: icy bodies act as the interaction medium, while small radio probes listen for Askaryan pulses and relay compact event records to Earth.
Author: Dubovenko, Alexander
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204072080
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