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PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv

Pulsars as natural launchers of interstellar probes

  • Zaza N. Osmanov
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Abstract

In this study, we investigate the feasibility of accelerating small probes up to relativistic energies via magnetocentrifugal acceleration by pulsars. Specifically, we consider a broad range of pulsars and examine probes with radii ranging from $10$ to $1000$ nm. We show that the probes may attain Lorentz factors of up to approximately $25$. Furthermore, we investigate the detectability of such probe swarms and demonstrate that, if a highly advanced civilization deploys probes with a total mass of approximately one billion tonnes for acceleration, their collective synchrotron emission could be detectable by the FAST radio telescope at a distance of 1 kpc. The study also discusses the potential resemblance between the emission from such probe swarms and fast radio bursts (FRBs), and outlines directions for future research.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{osmanov2026pulsars,
  title = {{Pulsars as natural launchers of interstellar probes}},
  author = {Zaza N. Osmanov},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.26454},
  eprint = {2610.26454},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.26454},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Pulsars as natural launchers of interstellar probes
AU  - Zaza N. Osmanov
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/19
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.26454
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.26454
AB  - In this study, we investigate the feasibility of accelerating small probes up to relativistic energies via magnetocentrifugal acceleration by pulsars. Specifically, we consider a broad range of pulsars and examine probes with radii ranging from $10$ to $1000$ nm. We show that the probes may attain Lorentz factors of up to approximately $25$. Furthermore, we investigate the detectability of such probe swarms and demonstrate that, if a highly advanced civilization deploys probes with a total mass of approximately one billion tonnes for acceleration, their collective synchrotron emission could be detectable by the FAST radio telescope at a distance of 1 kpc. The study also discusses the potential resemblance between the emission from such probe swarms and fast radio bursts (FRBs), and outlines directions for future research.
ER  -