Arecibo Wow! I: An Astrophysical Explanation for the Wow! Signal

Abstract

The Ohio State University Big Ear radio telescope detected in 1977 the Wow! Signal, one of the most famous and intriguing signals of extraterrestrial origin. Characterized by its strong relative intensity and narrow bandwidth near the 1420 MHz hydrogen line, its source has never been detected again despite numerous follow-up attempts. Arecibo Wow! is a new technosignature project using archived data from the Arecibo Observatory. Here we present our first results of drift scans made between February and May 2020 at 1420 MHz. The methods, frequency, and bandwidth of these observations are similar to those used to detect the Wow! Signal. However, our observations are more sensitive, have better temporal resolution, and include polarization measurements. We report the detection of narrowband signals (10 kHz) near the hydrogen line similar to the Wow! Signal, although two-orders of magnitude less intense and in multiple locations. Despite the similarities, these signals are easily identifiable as small interstellar clouds of cold hydrogen (HI) in the galaxy. We hypothesize that the Wow! Signal was caused by a sudden brightening of the hydrogen line in these clouds triggered by a strong transient radiation source, such as a magnetar flare or a soft gamma repeater (SGR). A maser flare or superradiance mechanisms can produce stimulated emission consistent with the Wow! Signal. Our hypothesis explains all observed properties of the Wow! Signal, proposes a new source of false positives in technosignature searches, and suggests that the Wow! Signal could be the first recorded event of an astronomical maser-like flare in the hydrogen line.