Physicist Aminesam Amiri from the University of Arkansas has proposed a new approach to searching for signs of extraterrestrial civilizations. According to his research, Dyson spheres — hypothetical giant structures for capturing stellar energy — could be hiding around red and white dwarfs.

What alien "spheres" might look like

A Dyson sphere is a theoretical megastructure that completely surrounds a star and intercepts nearly all of its energy. In this case, visible light is almost entirely absent, while excess heat is emitted in the infrared range. As a result, the object would appear as a very cool star with a temperature of about 50 Kelvin — significantly cooler than ordinary red dwarfs (about 3000 K).

Red dwarfs are the most numerous and longest-lived stars in the Milky Way, capable of burning for trillions of years. White dwarfs — the cooled cores of dead stars — could also be suitable for building such shells due to their compact size.

What has already been found

As part of the Hephaistos project, out of more than five million stars studied, seven candidates with anomalous infrared emission around red dwarfs were selected. One of them later turned out to be a background quasar, but the remaining six continue to be studied.

How to distinguish an artificial object

The key signature of an artificial Dyson sphere should be a "clean" thermal spectrum without the characteristic dust bands and flickering typical of natural nebulae. It is precisely this signal that researchers are looking for.

The nature of these objects can be definitively confirmed or ruled out through detailed spectral analysis, in particular using the James Webb Space Telescope.

Amiri's work has been accepted for publication in the journal Universe.

In brief

Physicist Aminesam Amiri has suggested that Dyson spheres — hypothetical megastructures for capturing stellar energy — could be hiding around red and white dwarfs. Such objects should manifest as very cool infrared sources without characteristic dust features. Several candidates have already been found in the Hephaistos project. Their nature can ultimately be determined through more detailed observations, particularly with the James Webb Space Telescope. The work was published in the journal Universe.