Laser transition in atomic iodine for passive and active SETI

It is proposed to use the wavelength 1.315 μm of the laser transition 2P1/2→2P3/2 in atomic iodine both for passive and active SETI. The search for an extraterrestrial signal at this wavelength is promising because an active quantum filter (AQF) with a quantum sensitivity limit and with strong fixing in the spectrum luminescence line of the width less than 0.01 cm−1, has been developed for the noted wavelength. Such AQF is capable of receiving the laser signals, consisting of only a few photons, against the background of emission from a star under study. In addition, the high-energy iodine lasers emitting diffraction-limited nanosecond pulses of energy of 2 kJ in a single beam at the wavelength 1.315 μm have been created. The spectral tuning of radiation of these lasers allows one to compensate the frequency Doppler shift. A weak absorption of the 1.315 μm radiation in the Earth atmosphere allows the search for extraterrestrial signals by using the ground optical telescopes equipped with adaptive optical systems.