The Nine Axes of Merit for Technosignature Searches

Abstract

The diverse methodologies and myriad orthogonal proposals for the best technosignatures to search for in SETI can make it difficult to develop an effective and balanced search strategy, especially from a funding perspective. Here I propose a framework to compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of various proposed technosignatures based on nine "axes of merit". This framework was first developed at the NASA Technosignatures Workshop in Houston in 2018 and published in that report. I give the definition and rationale behind the nine axes as well as the history of each axis in the SETI and technosignature literature. These axes are then applied to three example classes of technosignature searches as an illustration of their use. An open-source software tool is available to allow technosignature researchers to make their own version of the figure.