A 1.1-1.9 GHz SETI SURVEY OF THE<i>KEPLER</i>FIELD. I. A SEARCH FOR NARROW-BAND EMISSION FROM SELECT TARGETS

Abstract

We present a targeted search for narrow-band (&lt; 5 Hz) drifting sinusoidal\nradio emission from 86 stars in the Kepler field hosting confirmed or candidate\nexoplanets. Radio emission less than 5 Hz in spectral extent is currently known\nto only arise from artificial sources. The stars searched were chosen based on\nthe properties of their putative exoplanets, including stars hosting candidates\nwith 380 K &gt; T_eq &gt; 230 K, stars with 5 or more detected candidates or stars\nwith a super-Earth (R_p &lt; 3 R_earth) in a &gt; 50 day orbit. Baseband voltage data\nacross the entire band between 1.1 and 1.9 GHz were recorded at the Robert C.\nByrd Green Bank Telescope between Feb--Apr 2011 and subsequently searched\noffline. No signals of extraterrestrial origin were found. We estimate that\nfewer than ~1% of transiting exoplanet systems host technological civilizations\nthat are radio loud in narrow-band emission between 1-2 GHz at an equivalent\nisotropically radiated power (EIRP) of ~1.5 x 10^21 erg s^-1, approximately\neight times the peak EIRP of the Arecibo Planetary Radar, and we limit the the\nnumber of 1-2 GHz narrow-band-radio-loud Kardashev type II civilizations in the\nMilky Way to be &lt; 10^-6 M_solar^-1. Here we describe our observations, data\nreduction procedures and results.\n