Parkes observations for project PX600 semester 2020APRS_117

The Galactic Center (GC) is a key target for the radio component of Breakthrough Listen (BL) program. Offering the largest amount of stars in any given direction in the sky, the GC is widely cited as a location believed to harbour advanced civilizations, and it is also the most energetic region in the Milky Way. We aim to conduct BL-GC Survey with Parkes radio telescope for around 350 hours. We will cover the frequency range from 700 MHz to 4 GHz, utilizing the newly installed ultra-wideband receiver. Our team has already leveraged both standard and bespoke tools to construct a flexible software stack to search data for signals of interest. We will look for signals from extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) by searching for both simple narrow-band signals and complex modulated signals. Along with that, as an ancillary science, we will also search for accelerated pulsars — likely orbiting a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy. Data products produced during this program will also be publically available to engage larger pulsar community

银心（Galactic Center, GC）是突破聆听（Breakthrough Listen, BL）计划射电观测的核心目标天区。作为天空中任一方向上恒星数量最多的区域，银心长期被视作可能孕育高等外星文明的所在，同时也是银河系内能量最为活跃的区域。
本项目计划使用帕克斯射电望远镜（Parkes radio telescope）开展为期约350小时的BL-GC巡天观测。观测将覆盖700 MHz至4 GHz的频段，并采用新安装的超宽带接收机（ultra-wideband receiver）。本团队已结合标准工具与定制化工具搭建了灵活的软件栈（software stack），用于从观测数据中检索目标信号。我们将通过搜寻简单窄带信号与复杂调制信号两类信号，来寻找地外智慧生命（extraterrestrial intelligence, ETI）发出的信号。
除此之外，作为辅助科学研究内容，我们还将搜寻可能绕银河系中心超大质量黑洞运行的加速脉冲星。本项目产生的所有数据产品也将面向公众公开，以供更广泛的脉冲星研究共同体使用。