According to the scientist, if a developed extraterrestrial civilization wants to undertake interstellar travel, the best way to do it is along with their own star system.
Civilizations might have many reasons to “move”: avoiding supernova explosions, searching for resources, places to live, and ultimately, the desire to explore.
However, the vast distances between stars make interstellar travel extremely challenging. So instead of leaving their system, why not take it with them? Theoretically, it can be done if you make the star emit or evaporate material only in one direction.
Most stars are not solitary but belong to binary systems. This seems to imply a potential loss of half the candidates for artificial acceleration of stars. But on the other hand, binary systems, conversely, have advantages over solitary ones for interstellar travel. The article considers a model of a system consisting of a neutron star and a low-mass star orbiting around it. Such a situation provides the greatest flexibility in control and traction.
An extraterrestrial civilization would have to find a way to eject material from the star outward. This can be achieved using asymmetric magnetic fields or uneven heating of the star’s surface. The goal is to make the star eject more material in one direction than in another — this would create thrust.
If the civilization placed the appropriate technical devices on or near the neutron star, where strong gravity could provide energy supply, it could control the binary system by turning the thrust on and off. Intelligent beings could adjust the direction by changing the orbit of the stars relative to each other.
In the universe, there are real systems that meet the necessary characteristics, such as the pulsar PSR J0610-2100 or the pulsar PSR J2043+1711. Both systems have significant acceleration. The study notes that the motion is unlikely caused by extraterrestrial technology, but they are worth considering.
Source: Space.com
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